War Against Coffee Pest
The coffee berry borer beetle is an evil little pest that has been devastating coffee crops for years. This invasive bug has been going after our precious coffee, and scientists have finally decided that it time to do something about it. I have the feeling that if the extreme coffee fans out there knew about this issue, they would have been on top of this problem years ago. But, now thanks to new research a natural predator of the coffee berry borer beetle has been found in Africa.
Researchers have identified a previously unknown predator of the coffee berry borer beetle, a species of thrips that feeds on the eggs and larvae of the pest. What makes the coffee berry borer beetle so difficult to control is that most of the pest’s lifecycle occurs inside the coffee berry. The female lays her eggs inside the coffee berry, which feed on the coffee berry after they hatch. The adult thrips K. flavipes feeds on the eggs of the coffee berry borer beetle. The thrips enter the coffee berry from the same hole through which the beetle entered, and also deposits its eggs in the coffee berry. When they hatch they continue to develop inside the coffee berry, feeding on the eggs of the coffee berry borer beetle.
What do you think of these new predators of the coffee berry borer beetle? Do you think they will provide a good way to control those evil, coffee consuming beetles?
