New guinea sugarcane weevil - Rhabdoscelus obscurus
Version:
Effective: April 2, 2013
Resources: Pest Tracker CPHST Pest Datasheet
Screening Aids:
Rhabdoscelus obscurus - Sugar Cane Weevil Screening Aid
Taxonomic Position: Coleoptera : Curculionidae
Pest Type: Insects
Pest Code (NAPIS): INASDHA
This pest is a member of the following lists:

List 2018 2019 2020
Palm reference reference reference
This datasheet represents an Approved Method for: 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020
Major Hosts identified in the CAPS Host Matrix*:
New World palm/Palmetto; Palm (coconut palm, oil palm, etc.); Sugarcane

*This list includes important economic or environmental hosts but does not represent all major hosts of the pest. Check CPHST pest datasheet for complete list of hosts.
Human and Animal Pathogens Transmitted:
Not known to transmit any human or animal pathogens.
Plant Pathogens and Organisms Vectored:
Not known to vector any pathogens or other associated organisms but damage may lead to invasion by secondary pests.
Survey
Approved Method(s):
Method Product Name / Instructions NAPIS Survey Method
Trap 26 - Palm Weevil Bucket Trap
 3001 - General Trapping Procedure
Trap 23 - Homemade 5-Gallon Bucket Trap
 3001 - General Trapping Procedure
Visual See the CPHST pest datasheet for detailed survey instructions. 3031 - General Visual Observation
Method Notes:
Visual surveys may be used to detect larval populations before adults emerge. A trap and lure combination may be used to detect adult populations. See the CPHST Pest Datasheet for survey instructions. See USDA (2010) for instructions on making a Home-made 5 gallon bucket trap.
Approved Lure(s):
Option Product Name Dispenser Effectiveness Compound(s)
1 Rhabdoscelus obscurus Aggregation Lure polysleeve 42 days 2-methyl-4-octanol
Palm Weevil Lure, Ethyl Acetate polysleeve 42 days ethyl acetate
Food bait (Rhabdoscelus obscurus) N/A 7 days split sugarcane
Lure Notes:
Do not include lures for other palm pests in the same trap when trapping for R. obscurus.
Identification
Approved Method(s):

ID/Diagnostic: Morphological

Morphological. The genus Rhabdoscelus can be identified through morphological characteristics. Key characteristics include: mesocoxae separated by more than the width of a mesocoxa, spotted or blotched elytra, pile raised in irregular vittae and pustules, and moderately large elytral strial punctures (Zimmerman, 1993).

Brodel (2013a) provides important morphological characters of Dryophthoridae, showing how to differentiate this family from Curculionidae.

A Dryophthoridae key by Zimmerman (1968) as modified by C. F. Brodel (2013) is found in Brodel (2013b).

A key to domestic and PPQ-intercepted genera of Dryophthorinae can be found in Brodel (2002). This key includes several genera of importance, including Metamasius, Rhabdoscelus, and Rhynchophorus.
Mistaken Identities:
Rhabdoscelus obscurus resembles in shape, size, and coloration other sugarcane- and palm-attacking dryophthorid weevils distributed throughout the Americas and Southeast Asia. See the CPHST Pest Datasheet for a detailed list.

References
  1. Brodel, C.F. 2002. A key to domestic and PPQ-intercepted genera of Dryophthorinae (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Miami, FL. 6 pp.
  2. Brodel, C.F. 2013a. Important morphological characters of Dryophthoridae. USDA-APHIS-PPQ. 1 p.
  3. Brodel, C.F. 2013b. Dryophthoridae key by Zimmerman (1968) as Modified by C. F. Brodel (2013).
  4. USDA-APHIS-PPQ-EDP. 2010. New Pest Response Guidelines: Red Palm Weevil, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus.Riverdale, Maryland.