PESTS OF MORINGA :: MAJOR PESTS :: LONG HORN BEETLES

6. Long horn beetles: Batocera rubus (Cerambycidae: Coleoptera)
Distribution and status
It is widely distributed all over the Indian sub-continent.
Damage symptoms : Grubs make zig-zag burrow beneath the bark, feed on internal tissues, reach sapwood and cause death of affected branch or stem. Adults feed on the bark of young twigs and petioles

Batocera rubus

Bionomics : Eggs are laid singly in cracks or crevices in the bark of the tree. Grubs are stout, about 100 mm long, yellowish in colour with well-defined segmentation. Pupation takes place within the tunnels. Adults are medium-sized beetles and yellowish–brown with white spots on elytra. Egg, grub and pupal periods last for 1 to 2, 24 to 28 and 12 to 24 weeks respectively. There is only one generation in a year.

Management :

1. Clean affected portion of tree by removing all webbed material, excreta etc.
2. Insert in each hole, cotton–wool soaked in monocrotophos 36 WSC 5 ml or any good fumigant like carbon disulphide, carbon tetrachloride, chloroform or even petrol and seal treated hole with mud.