Callosobruchus chinensis

Callosobruchus chinensis Linnaeus

Taxonomic placing: Insecta, Holometabola, Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae.

(In the past the pest was erroneously placed in the family Bruchidae).

Common name: Adzuki bean weevil, pulse beetle.

Geographical distribution: World-wide.

Morphology: The female is about 3-3.5 mm in length; the elytra are red-brown with yellow makings, antennae and legs yellow, female antennae serrate, those of male pectinate. Larva yellowish-white with a brown head and reduced legs, about 5 mm long. Several geographic strains of this species are known whose morphology is slightly different.

Host plants: Beans and peas, especially chick-peas with smooth, spherical pods.

Life cycle: The pest raises 7-8 annual generations. A female lays 50-100 eggs on smooth legume pods. The emerging larvae immediately inter the pods to feed; several larvae may occur within the same seed. Development requires several weeks. The threshold of development is at 7°C, and the development of a generation requires 560 day-degrees. The adults, which do not feed, live for less than one week and are capable of flight.

Economic importance: The Adzuki beetle is a major pest of stored lentils. Pod infestation can start in the field before harvest, the pest thus gaining entrance into storage bins. It may cause substantial damage, coming to over 80% losses in weight and in germination rates. Infested seeds are less nutritious and unfit for humans.

Management:

Horticultural practices: Intercropping with cereals and early harvesting of legumes, before pest attack. Good store hygiene, including the removal of residues from last season’s harvest. Heating seeds to 50ºC for one hour kills the eggs and larvae.

Plant resistance: Certain legume varieties with thick, hairy walls are resistant to beetle infestation.

Chemical control: Organophosphates and neem compounds have been used in different countries. Many plant extracts and oils were applied with uneven success, as oviposition deterrents and for beetle control.

Biological control: Several parasitoids of the families Braconidae and Pteromalidae attack C. chinensis in various parts of the world. The mite Pyemotes also parasitizes the pest.

References

Ahmed, K.S., Itino, T. and Ichikawa, T. 1999. Effects of plant oils on oviposition preference and larval survivorship of Callosobruchus chinensis (Coleoptera: Bruchidae) on azuki bean. Applied Entomology and Zoology 34: 547-550.

Applebaum, S.W., Southgate, B.J. and Podoler, H. 1968. The comparative morphology, specific status and host compatibility of two geographical strains of Callosobruchus chinensis L. (Coleoptera, Bruchidae). Journal of Stored Products Research 4: 135-146.

Islam, W. and Kabir, S.M.H. 1995. Biological control potential of Dinarmus basalis (Rond.) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae), a larval-pupal ectoparasitoid of the pulse beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis (L.). Crop protection 14: 439-443.

Nahdy, M.S., Silim, S.N. and Ellis, R.H. 1999. Some aspects of pod characteristics predisposing pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp.) to infestation by Callosobruchus chinensis (L.). Journal of Stored Products Research 35: 47-55.

Rana, K., Sharma, K.C. and Kanwar, H.S. 2013. Oviposition deterrent activity of some indigenous plant extracts against pulse beetle, Callosobruchus chinensis L. Infesting pea in storage. International Journal of Bio-Resource & Stress Management 4: 362.

Somata, P., Ammaranan, C., Ooi, Peter A.-C. and Srinives, P. 2007. Inheritance of seed resistance to bruchids in cultivated mungbean (Vigna radiata L. Wilczek. S). Euphytica 155: 47-55.

Varma, S. and Anandhi, P. 2010. Biology of pulse beetle (Callosobruchus chinensis Linn., Coleoptera: Bruchidae) and their management through botanicals on stored mung grains in Allahabad region. Legume Research: An International Journal 33: 38 pp.

Wackers, F.L., Schmale, K., Cardona, C.M. and Dorn, S. 1998. The effect of food supplements on the longevity of the bean weevil parasitoids Anisopteromalus calandrae and Heterospilus prosopidis. OILB-SROP Bulletin 21(3): 75-82.

Website: https://www.google.co.il/search?q=Callosobruchus+chinensis&biw=1024&bih=695&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CBoQsARqFQoTCNqo4c6Kv8gCFcpbFAodrMcIAw

http://www.cabi.org/isc/datasheet/10986