Continuous Rearing of the Red Palm Weevils, Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Olivier, 1970) on Sugarcane in Laboratory for Biological Studies (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae)

Red Palm Weevil (RPW), Rhynchophorus ferrugineus (Coleoptera: Dryophthoridae) is a very destructive insect pest to plants under the family of Palmacea such as dates palm, coconut tree, sago palm as well as oil palm. Many studies conducted on RPW required large numbers of weevils of various stages, hence rearing is needed to solve the problem. In this study, RPW reared on sugarcane in the laboratory for several generations to facilitate biological studies of this tissue-boring pest. The rearing was conducted at National University of Malaysia, Bangi, Selangor. Adult weevils collected from the field by using pheromone trapping method. The adult weevils supplied with stems of sugarcane for food and they were also oviposited on it. The larvae were fed on stems of sugarcane until pupation. The length and size of the sugarcane stems were propotional to the size of the larva. Data on the duration of developmental life stages were recorded. The larvae fully developed on sugarcane and molted 8 times within the mean of 70 days. The larvae were able to construct cocoons due to the availability of fibers in the sugarcane. Sugarcane is the best diet to be used in the mass laboratory rearing of RPW in Malaysia.