A new specific plant host for the agave snout weevil, Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal, 1838 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in South Africa: A destructive pest of species of Agave L. (Agavaceae)
Date
2012
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Abstract
The widely distributed agave snout
weevil, Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal, is
for the first time recorded from Agave salmiana
Otto ex Salm-Dyck subsp. salmiana in South
Africa. In its native habitat in Mexico, this new
host plant species is one of the most important
sources of pulque, a fermented alcoholic beverage.
With efforts underway at Bothaville in the Free
State Province, South Africa, to establish an
agave nectar industry, commercial farmers should
be made aware of the destruction that the agave
weevil can cause, especially in concentrated populations
and plantations of Agave L. species.
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Citation
Smith, G.F., Figueiredo, E., Klopper, R.R., Crouch, N.R., Janion, C. and Chown, S.L. (2012). A new specific plant host for the agave snout weevil, Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal, 1838 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in South Africa: A destructive pest of species of Agave L. (Agavaceae). Bradleya 30, 19-24