Biology of the sineguelas leaf beetle, Podontia quatuordecimpunctata (L.) (Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini), on Spondias purpurea L. (Anacardiaceae) in the Philippines

Authors

Orlando A. Calcetas, Lipa Agricultural Research and Experiment Station (LARES), PhilippinesFollow
, Los Baños National Crop Research, Development and Production Support Center, PhilippinesFollow
Charles L. Staines, Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterFollow
Caroline Simmrita Chaboo, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow
Rachel Ann A. Anabo, Los Baños National Crop Research, Development and Production Support Center, PhilippinesFollow
Monalisa O. Recuenco, Los Baños National Crop Research, Development and Production Support Center, PhilippinesFollow

ORCID IDs

Orlando A. Calcetas https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8141-9748

Joel L. Adorada https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8335-1388

Charles L. Staines https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7411-1024

Caroline S. Chaboo http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6983-8042

Date of this Version

8-4-2023

Citation

Calcetas OA, Adorada JL, Staines CL, Chaboo CS, Anabo RAA, Recuenco MO. 2023. Biology of the sineguelas leaf beetle, Podontia quatuordecimpunctata (L.) (Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini), on Spondias purpurea L. (Anacardiaceae) in the Philippines. Insecta Mundi 1001: 1–39.

Comments

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License

Published on August 4, 2023 by Center for Systematic Entomology, Inc. P.O. Box 141874 Gainesville, FL 32614-1874 USA http://centerforsystematicentomology.org/

Abstract

Spondias purpurea L. (Anacardiaceae), native to the Neotropical region, is cultivated in the Phil­ippines for the edible fruits and the tree is economically significant. The adventive leaf beetle, Podontia quatuordecimpunctata (L.) (Chrysomelidae: Galerucinae: Alticini), has become a major defoliating pest of the tree in the country. The Philippines government has initiated study of the pest, now locally called the sineguelas leaf beetle (SLB). This paper reports the results of a one-year field study on the biology of SLB on S. purpurea (red sineguelas), in Batangas City, Philippines. The SLB eggs hatch in 5–7 days. The larval period is 14–16 days with 4 larval instars, the pre-pupal period is 2–3 days, and the pupal period is 15–22 days. The total life cycle from egg to adult emergence is completed within 36–48 days. Host-choice experiments revealed that different stages of SLB do not feed on carabao mango (Mangifera indica L.) or pili (Canarium ovatum Engl.), however, they fed a little but did not survive or reproduce on cashew (Anacardium occiden­tale L.). A predatory bug (Eocanthecona furcellata Wolff., Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) is a potential natural enemy. Unidentified fungi infecting the pupae and adults of SLB were also recorded.