Fecundity, Fertility and Survival of Red Palm Weevil (Rhynchophorus ferrugineus) Larvae Reared on Sago Palm

Abstract

Red palm weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus has been reported as a serious pest of coconut, sago palm and date palm in many parts of the world. In Malaysia, RPW is a lethal pest of coconut in Terengganu and sago palm in Sarawak. However, very limited information about the reproductive performance of RPW is available, specifically in Malaysia. In the present study, the reproductive performance of RPW reared on sago palm (Metroxylon sagu) were studied using nine pairs of virgin RPW under laboratory conditions. The number of eggs laid and eggs viability were recorded daily until females could not produce eggs. The total numbers of eggs laid were 3081 and the average number of eggs deposited by a female was 342.3+0.97 eggs (ranged from 270 to 396). The percentage of hatchability was 52.4% and out of the total 1614 hatched eggs, only 118 individuals (7.3%) were survived until late instar. However, no significant differences in fecundity, hatchability and total survived larvae in different RPW pairs were observed. Females longevity was found to be strongly influenced by the number of eggs laid; the higher number of eggs laid, the shorter is the life span of the female. This study is important to understand the biological aspects of RPW, as a first step to develop effective control strategy of the pest.