Scientists Get Creative In Order To Control A Dreaded Insect Pest

The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CR beetle) is a highly destructive insect pest that has been devastating palm trees in the Pacific islands, as well as southeast Asia. The CR beetle burrows its way into the crowns of palm trees in order to suck the trees’ precious sap. This sap-sucking process eventually results in the death of the tree. In order to put an end to this mass tree death, entomologists figured out a method of tracking each breeding area in a particular region.

This tremendous feat of science was accomplished by attaching radio tracking devices on numerous captured CR beetles. Then the beetles led the researchers right to their breeding spots. This technological method of finding beetle breeding sites can prove to be highly useful if the focus was on breeding sites near areas where palm trees are becoming progressively engaged. Ultimately, this technology could help eradicate an entire population of CR beetles in a region with an abundance of palm trees, or their presence in such regions could be prevented in order to save as many palm trees as possible that are left.

Do you think that the CR beetle is the only insect pest that is contributing to the death of palm trees?