Acoustic Detection of Mallodon dasystomus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) in Persea americana (Laurales: Lauraceae) Branch Stumps

Abstract

Mallodon dasystomus Say (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae) is a pest of hardwood trees in the southern United States that recently began attacking trees in avocado groves in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The larvae feed hidden inside the tree, and adult attractants have not been commercialized; consequently, this species is difficult to find in field environments. It was of interest to consider the potential use of insect acoustic detection devices to help survey the magnitude and locations M. dasystomus populations in commercial avocado groves so that the extent of their economic damage could be estimated. An insect acoustic detection system was tested in 2 avocado groves on 11 trees suspected of harboring infestations. Four infested trees were identified and 6 were correctly classified as uninfested. One uninfested tree was classified as infested, possibly due to the occurrence of wind during signal recording. The use of acoustic methods to detect M. dasystomus can be of benefit in estimating its economic damage to the Florida avocado industry already facing losses from laurel wilt, caused by Raffaelea lauricola, Harrington, Fraedrich, and Aghayeva (Ophiostomataceae), vectored by redbay ambrosia beetle Xyleborus glabratus Eichhoff (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) (Ploetz et al. 2017), and Fusarium (Hypocreaceae) dieback, vectored by Euwallacea nr. Fornicatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) (Carrillo et al. 2016; Kendra et al. 2017).