![]() ![]() ![]() Research gaps and directions deserving future attention are highlighted and a strategy for renovation of biological controls for CRB suggested. In this article, we review literature on CRB to 1) analyze past introductions of BCAs and their effectiveness 2) identify potentially important natural enemies and their geographical origins and 3) assess possible approaches for utilization of BCAs against the new wave of CRB invasion. The re-emergence of CRB as a serious pest warrants a rigorous re-evaluation of potential BCAs and a new search for effective natural enemies if necessary. Recently a new biotype of the beetle, known as CRB-G, has spread into the Pacific Islands causing unprecedented levels of damage due to the failure of previously successful biological control agents (BCAs) to suppress this biotype. Release of the Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus Huger (OrNV) and the species complex of Metarhizium Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) was successful in controlling CRB in its invaded range. In the 1950s and 1960s, an international biological control effort was initiated to search for and release natural enemy species. It has since spread to several Pacific island nations and territories, causing significant economic impact on these important coconut and palm-growing regions. The insect is native to South and Southeast Asia and was inadvertently introduced into the Pacific in 1909. ![]() Adults bore into the crown and damage developing fronds, which affects tree development and yield. This rhinoceros can fly short distances, although its heavy body makes for a bumpy and brief ride.The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB: Oryctes rhinoceros Linnaeus) is one of the most damaging pests to coconut and oil palms in Asia and the Pacific Islands. These sounds are not vocal, but produced when the beetle rubs its abdomen and wing covers together. When disturbed, or before mating with a female rhinoceros beetles produce hissing squeaks. Longevity varies among species, but a typical lifespan is one to two years, with much of that time spent in the larval stage. Females lay about 50 eggs, which hatch into larvae. ![]() Females are smaller and do not have horns. Additional, shorter horns project out from his head. The male rhinoceros beetle is proudly posts a long, intimidating horn on its head that curves up, and is used for mating ritual fights. In the United States, they’re found from Arizona to Nebraska and eastward. Though almost mythological in appearance, they are found on every continent on Earth except Antarctica. Most Rhinoceros beetles are black, gray, or greenish in color, and some are covered in soft hairs. Such a gentle diet for a giant! The larvae eat decaying plant matter. (That’d be like a human lifting twenty mid-sized cars.) These beetles are known to put their strength, and their horns, to use by quickly digging themselves into soil to escape danger.Īll rhinoceros beetles are herbivorous, feeding on fruit, nectar, and tree sap that they tap with their horns. Adults of these species can lift objects 850 times their weight. Another of the species, slightly smaller than the rhinoceros, is called the hercules beetle, due to its Herculean strength. They can grow up to six inches, making them some of the largest beetles in the world. A subfamily of the scarab beetle family, rhinoceros beetles are named for the horn-like projections on the males' heads. Each Wednesday, One Earth’s “Species of the Week” series highlights a relatively unknown and fascinating species to showcase the beauty, diversity, and remarkable characteristics of our shared planet Earth.ĭynastinae, Rhinoceros or Hercules beetle… no matter what you call it, this insect is a force of nature. ![]()
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