Aspects of the biology of the banana weevil borer in different cultivars of banana

Abstract

Some biological aspects of the banana weevil borer Cosmopolites sordidus Germar (1824), feeding on banana cultivars Nanica (AAA), Leite (AAA), Prata (AAB) and Figo Vermelho (ABB), were studied in laboratory. The eggs were incubated in Petri dishes on cylindrical leaf pieces on wet filter paper. The larvae were maintained in Petri dishes feeding between two slices of banana rhizome, which were substituted every 48 hours. The egg incubation period varied from 4 to 14 days, with a peak of larval emergence between the 6th and 7th days after oviposition. The larval stage varied according to the host cultivar: 22.44 days when fed on 'Nanica' (AAA) rhizomes, up to 29.00 days for those reared on 'Figo Vermelho' (AAB). The average pre-pupal and pupal periods of insects reared in all four cultivars were 2.0 to 31 and 5.8 to 6.4 days, respectively. The emergence of adults was between 30.6 and 37.9 days from larval hatching.