New records of insect pest species associated with cashew, Anacardium occidentale L. (Anacardiaceae), in Guinea-Bissau.
Vasconcelos S., Mendes L. F., Beja P., Hodgson C. J., Catarino L.
Author Affiliation: Instituto de Investigação Científica Tropical, Rua da Junqueira, 86-1°, 1300-344 Lisboa, Portugal.
African Entomology 22 : 673-677
Abstract : To avoid future economic losses, it is a prerequisite to document the occurrence of potential insect pests in cashew orchards of Guinea-Bissau, West Africa. This issue is addressed in the present study, by reviewing the extant literature on cashew insect pests in Guinea-Bissau and reporting new data collected from April to May 2013 during a general biodiversity survey conducted in the country. Four orchards showed signs of infestation, three in the region of Biombo and one in the region of Gabu, where local farmers were asked to point out insect pests responsible for the damage. The percentage of infested trees was then visually estimated and voucher specimens of the insects were collected for identification. Two wood-boring beetles and one scale species were detected: Plocaederus ferrugineus, Apate terebrans and Udinia catori. The trunk and root borer, P. ferrugineus, constitutes a new record from Guinea-Bissau and was found in a single dead cashew tree in Quinhamel. It is reported to be a pest of increasing importance in the country. The stem borer, Apate terebrans, had already been recorded from Guinea-Bissau in the Bafatá, Gabu and Quinara regions, and was found to be responsible for the death of ~5% of trees in an orchard in Quinhamel, and 30% of an orchard in Prábis (Biombo region) during the survey. U. catori, a minor pest widely distributed throughout West Africa and previously recorded from Guinea-Bissau on Mangifera indica, was recorded for the first time in Anacardium occidentale on ~5% of the trees in an orchard in Cansamanje (Gabu region) during the present study.