Developmental biology and substrate preference of the quarantine pest, mango pulp weevil Sternochetus frigidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) under laboratory conditions
7 affiliations
- 1Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India
- 2Regional Research Station, ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute-Assam, Kamrup, Assam, India
- 3Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India
- 4AAU-Zonal Research Station, Sribhumi, Assam, India
- 5AICRP on Fruits, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India
- 6Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat, Assam, India
- 7Indian Council of Agricultural Research-Krishi Vigyan Kendra Hailakandi, ICAR RC for NEH Region, Hailakandi, Assam, India
Abstract
The mango pulp weevil, Sternochetus frigidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a major monophagous and quarantine pest of mango (Mangifera indica) in tropical Asia, causing severe yield and quality losses due to its concealed feeding and development within fruit tissues. A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the developmental biology, morphometrics and substrate preference of S. frigidus using seven mango substrates: young flush, old flush, green fruit (whole and sliced), ripened fruit (whole and sliced) and stem. Experimental rearing recorded all post-ovipositional stages except the egg phase due to lack of suitable specimens and the weevil completed five larval instars with a larva to adult period of 36–47 days across substrates without significant variation. Larvae were apodous and yellowish, reaching up to 14–15 mm in length, while pupae were exarate, measuring approximately 8.8 mm in length. Adult females exhibited larger abdominal dimensions and longer antennae than males, indicating clear sexual dimorphism. Feeding and aggregation studies revealed a strong preference for sliced ripened mango fruit, followed by sliced green fruit, suggesting that exposed fruit tissues and associated volatiles strongly influence adult attraction. Infested fruits consistently showed symptoms of anthracnose, with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides identified from affected tissues, indicating that weevil feeding facilitates secondary fungal infection. The findings provide essential biological and behavioural insights into S. frigidus that are directly relevant to mass rearing, detection and the development of sustainable management strategies for mango production and quarantine protection.
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BibTeX
@article{begum2026developmental,
title = {{Developmental biology and substrate preference of the quarantine pest, mango pulp weevil Sternochetus frigidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) under laboratory conditions}},
author = {Sayesta Mehejaveen Begum and Badal Bhattacharyya and Shimantini Borkataki and Kanchan Saikia and Bikash Hazarika and K. Sindhura Bhairavi and Shareen Tikhak and Ritu Ranjan Taye and Inee Gogoi and Supriya Sharma and Saurabh Sarma},
journal = {PLOS One},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0345209},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0345209},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Developmental biology and substrate preference of the quarantine pest, mango pulp weevil Sternochetus frigidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) under laboratory conditions
AU - Sayesta Mehejaveen Begum
AU - Badal Bhattacharyya
AU - Shimantini Borkataki
AU - Kanchan Saikia
AU - Bikash Hazarika
AU - K. Sindhura Bhairavi
AU - Shareen Tikhak
AU - Ritu Ranjan Taye
AU - Inee Gogoi
AU - Supriya Sharma
AU - Saurabh Sarma
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/05
JO - PLOS One
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0345209
UR - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0345209
AB - The mango pulp weevil, Sternochetus frigidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), is a major monophagous and quarantine pest of mango (Mangifera indica) in tropical Asia, causing severe yield and quality losses due to its concealed feeding and development within fruit tissues. A laboratory study was conducted to investigate the developmental biology, morphometrics and substrate preference of S. frigidus using seven mango substrates: young flush, old flush, green fruit (whole and sliced), ripened fruit (whole and sliced) and stem. Experimental rearing recorded all post-ovipositional stages except the egg phase due to lack of suitable specimens and the weevil completed five larval instars with a larva to adult period of 36–47 days across substrates without significant variation. Larvae were apodous and yellowish, reaching up to 14–15 mm in length, while pupae were exarate, measuring approximately 8.8 mm in length. Adult females exhibited larger abdominal dimensions and longer antennae than males, indicating clear sexual dimorphism. Feeding and aggregation studies revealed a strong preference for sliced ripened mango fruit, followed by sliced green fruit, suggesting that exposed fruit tissues and associated volatiles strongly influence adult attraction. Infested fruits consistently showed symptoms of anthracnose, with Colletotrichum gloeosporioides identified from affected tissues, indicating that weevil feeding facilitates secondary fungal infection. The findings provide essential biological and behavioural insights into S. frigidus that are directly relevant to mass rearing, detection and the development of sustainable management strategies for mango production and quarantine protection.
SN - 1932-6203
ER -