Other Common Names
Citrus [Root] Weevil, Sugarcane Rootstalk Borer Weevil, Apopka Weevil, Sugarcane Root Weevil, West Indian Sugar Cane Rootstalk Borer
Explanation of Names
Diaprepes abbreviatus (Linnaeus 1758)
Identification
color variable (from gray to yellow to orange to black)
Range
Native to the Caribbean, adventive mostly along Gulf and s. Atlantic Coasts (s. TX to s. FL to SC) -
Map (1), large populations in Houston and c. Florida
Food
highly polyphagous; larvae feed on roots, adults on foliage of citrus trees (esp. oranges in TX) and almost 300 other plant species
(2)Remarks
Major pest of citrus crops: larvae often girdle the taproot, which may kill the plant and provide an avenue for Phythophora infections. A single larva can kill young hosts while several larvae can cause serious decline of older, established hosts.
Pest of sugarcane in the Caribbean
(3); earliest record in our area: FL 1964
(2)
so. & central FL (1964), so. TX (Cameron & Hidalgo Cos 2000, Corpus Christi 2005, Houston 2009; so. CA (2005), LA (2008); further north in greenhouses
Print References
French J.V., Skaria M. (2000) Citrus root weevil identified. Texas A&M University-Kingsville Citrus Center Newsletter 18(6).
Grafton-Cardwell E.E., Godfrey K.E., Peña J.E., McCoy C.W., Luck R.F. (2004) Diaprepes root weevil. ANR Publication 8131, 8 pp.
Woodruff R.E. (1985) Citrus weevils in Florida and the West Indies: preliminary report on systematics, biology, and distribution (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Fla. Entomol. 68(3): 370-379.
