Bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) associated with avocado in Nayarit, Mexico

Abstract

The widespread Scolytinae and Platypodinae beetles are capable to colonize a broad range of host plants and several species are considered serious pests in agri-forest environments. In this work, we report the abundance and seasonal variation of scolytine and platypodine beetles associated to a Hass avocado orchard in West-central Mexico. During 2018 and 2019, specimens were captured using bottle traps baited with ethyl alcohol. We tested whether the climatic conditions explain the abundance and species richness. A total of 3,548 specimens from 30 species and 13 genera were collected. Thirteen species are new records for Nayarit State. The most abundant species were Corthylocurus aguacatensis (Schedl 1940), Xyleborus volvulus (Fabricius 1775) and Xyleborus affinis (Eichhoff 1868), these Scolytinae representing 54% of total collected. Abundance and species richness peaked during the fall season (from October to December). Differential responses to temperature and humidity across the temporal scale was found between species. Temperatures below 30 ° but above 26 ° C, and relative humidity (70 to 85%) favored the highest abundance and species richness of most Scolytinae (e.g. C. aguacatensis, Corthylus papulans and X. affinis). Thus, for sustainable management of these pest species we suggest regularly monitoring them in the avocado plantations from Nayarit and other producing states in Mexico.