Palm-killing pests resurge in Hainan

BEIJING, March 14 -- A rebound in the number of coconut leaf beetles, an invasive species that feed on coconut palm leaflets, has led to wide spread deaths of palm trees in Haikou, capital city of southernmost China's Hainan Province, the local forestry administration says.

Persistent low temperature and rainy weather since January in Haikou has killed a large number of the type of parasitic bees (Asecodes hispinarum) that serve as the biological agent against the foliage-damaging pests, Xinhua news agency reports on Thursday.

The ideal breeding temperature for wild parasitic bees is between 20 to 26 degrees Celsius and if the temperature drops below 15 degrees, the bees will cease to be active. However, this January the temperature in Haikou has been around 7 to 8 degrees for days.

Haikou's forest pests prevention and quarantine station has taken measures to ward off a major outbreak of coconut leaf beetles on the local palm plantations, including inserting insecticide bags at the bases of the unopened leaves and urging two local bee breeding farms to expand production now that the temperature has become warmer.

Both adults and larvae of coconut leaf beetles live and feed on young unfolded coconut leaflets. They remove strips of tissue from both sides of the leaves. The attacks cause leave tissues to dry up and rot; the brown leaves then shrivel and curl up and this gives the attacked palm a scorched appearance. If the attack lasts a little longer, the palm might die.

Coconut palms play an important role in the economy of Hainan, the second largest island in China, where palms are planted across the island both as economic and ornamental plants.

(Source: CRIENGLISH.com)