a survey of beetles damaging commercially impotrtant ... - Icrisat.ac.in

A proper assessment of the storage pest problem for this timber couldnot be made as the species was scarce in depots. Its major use is inconstruction works, for making cabinets, packing cases, turnery articles,furniture etc.Mathur and Singh (1960-b) have recorded 36 species of borersincluding the cera m by c id, P/ocaederus obesos, the sco I yt i d , Xylebo rusinterjectus and the platypodid, Platypus uncinatus, all of which are commonin Kerala.Large borersNilSmall borers25 Grewia tiliaefolia VahlTiliaceaeHete robost rychus aequa /is Wa t . ( B ostryc h i d a e)Sinoxylon anale Les. ( ,# )S. pygmaeorn Les. ( 9, )Mecopus sp. (Curcul ion idae)Round logs as well as converted timber are seriously damaged by thesmall borers recorded here. Of these, the galleries of Heterobostrychusaequalis and Sinoxylon anale family deep into the sapwood. However, thiscannot be considered as a major problem since the sapwood is generallyexcluded in construction work. The weevil, Mecopus sp. was found to tunnelin the sapwood of stored logs in one instance, causing damage.A tenebrionid, Lyphia orientalis was noted to be associated withs. pygmaeum at Vazhachal (Trichur Dist.). This species is known to occur inlogs attacked by the bostrychids and is suspected to be predatory (Beeson,1941).Damage by small borers have great economic significance since theconverted timber is used mainly in construction work, for making heavypacking cases, cabinets, tool handles etc.Nearly 20 species of wood borers have been reported on this timberwhich include the major borers, Ceresium leucosticticum and Stromatiumbarbatum(Cerarnbycidae), (Mathur & Singh, 1960-b). However the borersfound in this survey have not been recorded previously on this species.