''Pseudotheraptus wayi'', the coconut bug, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

leaf-footed bug Coreidae is a large family (biology), family of predominantly sap-sucking insects in the Hemipteran suborder Heteroptera. The name "Coreidae" derives from the genus ''Coreus'', which derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning bedbug. As a famil ...

in the family

Coreidae Coreidae is a large family of predominantly sap-sucking insects in the Hemipteran suborder Heteroptera. The name "Coreidae" derives from the genus ''Coreus'', which derives from the Ancient Greek () meaning bedbug. As a family, the Coreidae a ...

. It is a pest of

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

in East Africa.

Distribution

''P. wayi'' is found in tropical and subtropical Africa, its range including Côte d'Ivoire, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zambia, Botswana and South Africa.

Life cycle

Eggs are laid on host plants and take 30 to 40 days to develop, depending on external conditions. As a true bug, this species goes through

incomplete metamorphosis Hemimetabolism or hemimetaboly, also called incomplete metamorphosis and paurometabolism,McGavin, George C. ''Essential Entomology: An Order-by-Order Introduction''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. pp. 20. is the mode of development of certa ...

, the

nymph A nymph ( grc, νύμφη, nýmphē, el, script=Latn, nímfi, label=Modern Greek; , ) in ancient Greek folklore is a minor female nature deity. Different from Greek goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as personifications of nature, are ty ...

passing through five

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

stages. The adult females survive for up to two months, laying two or three eggs a day.

Host range

''P. wayi'' is a pest of

and various other fruit crops. It attacks the growing points of shoots, flowers (where it may cause petal drop) and fruit (where it may cause abnormal shape, pitting, brown or black lesions, exudation of gum and fruit drop). In coconuts, young nymphs feed at the base of male flowers, and older nymphs and adults feed on the female flowers and developing nuts. The toxic

saliva Saliva (commonly referred to as spit) is an extracellular fluid produced and secreted by salivary glands in the mouth. In humans, saliva is around 99% water, plus electrolytes, mucus, white blood cells, epithelial cells (from which DNA can be ...

that they inject causes lesions and fruit drop, but as up to 70% of the young fruit may fall naturally, it is difficult to establish the prevalence of the pest. In Zanzibar, up to 100% loss of the crop has been reported. On

macadamia ''Macadamia'' is a genus of four species of trees in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. They are indigenous to Australia, native to northeastern New South Wales and central and southeastern Queensland specifically. Two species of the genus ...

, the damage is similar, and fruit that do not drop may have distorted

kernels Kernel may refer to: Computing * Kernel (operating system), the central component of most operating systems * Kernel (image processing), a matrix used for image convolution * Compute kernel, in GPGPU programming * Kernel method, in machine learnin ...

Avocado The avocado (''Persea americana'') is a medium-sized, evergreen tree in the laurel family (Lauraceae). It is native to the Americas and was first domesticated by Mesoamerican tribes more than 5,000 years ago. Then as now it was prized for i ...

guava Guava () is a common tropical fruit cultivated in many tropical and subtropical regions. The common guava ''Psidium guajava'' (lemon guava, apple guava) is a small tree in the myrtle family ( Myrtaceae), native to Mexico, Central America, the ...

s and

mango A mango is an edible stone fruit produced by the tropical tree ''Mangifera indica''. It is believed to have originated in the region between northwestern Myanmar, Bangladesh, and northeastern India. ''M. indica'' has been cultivated in South a ...

es develop pock-like lesions or soft circular patches resembling hail damage. The fruit does not rot but can be disfigured, and many affected mango fruits drop.

Pecan The pecan (''Carya illinoinensis'') is a species of hickory native to the southern United States and northern Mexico in the region of the Mississippi River. The tree is cultivated for its seed in the southern United States, primarily in Georgia, ...

s are also involved in fruit drop when attacked in the early stages, and when attacked later, the kernels may have black stains which render them valueless.

Ecology

Natural enemies of ''P. wayi'' include the egg parasitic wasps ''

Anastatus ''Anastatus'' is a large genus of parasitic wasps belonging to the family Eupelmidae. The genus has cosmopolitan distribution. Species *'' Anastatus absonus'' *'' Anastatus acherontiae'' *'' Anastatus adamsi'' *'' Anastatus aereicorpus'' Gir ...

'', ''

Ooencyrtus ''Ooencyrtus'' is a genus of chalcid wasp. William Harris Ashmead named and circumscribed In geometry, the circumscribed circle or circumcircle of a polygon is a circle that passes through all the vertices of the polygon. The center of this ...

'' and ''

Trissolcus ''Trissolcus'' is a genus of parasitoid wasps in the family Platygastridae. There are at least 180 described species in ''Trissolcus''. They parasitize eggs of Pentatomorpha. Species These species belong to the genus ''Trissolcus'': * '' Tri ...

''.

Predators Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill the ...

include the ant ''

Anoplolepis custodiens ''Anoplolepis custodiens'', commonly known as the common pugnacious ant, is a species of ant in the genus ''Anoplolepis'', native to central and southern Africa. Individual ants may come in a range of colors and sizes. Found in dry and cultivated ...

'' and the African weaver ant (''Oecophylla longinoda''). The weaver ant is effective as a

biological pest control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

agent, and is sometimes introduced into coconut palm plantations in order to control ''P. wayi''. When researching how best to control the pest, it has been found possible and convenient to rear it on

green bean Green beans are young, unripe fruits of various cultivars of the common bean ('' Phaseolus vulgaris''), although immature or young pods of the runner bean (''Phaseolus coccineus''), yardlong bean ( ''Vigna unguiculata'' subsp. ''sesquipedalis ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q48813331 Coreidae Hemiptera of Africa Insects described in 1955 Agricultural pest insects