For all those coffee drinkers out there!

Coffee is one of the biggest cash crops in many parts of the world, and the coffee berry borer is one of the most widespread pests of the coffee berry. The female borer drills a hole into the berry and then lays her eggs. The eggs hatch and the larvae complete their development by feeding on the berry. These tiny beetles cause economic losses estimated at $500 million. Recently, however, a group of scientists discovered a thrips species, Karnyothrips flavipes, which is a natural enemy of the coffee borer. This thrips was identified as feeding on the eggs and larvae of the coffee borer inside the coffee berry. Scientists found the highest percentage of thrips preying on borer larvae and eggs early in the growing season, which coincides with the coffee borer populations being the highest. More research is needed to determine how effective this predator is at controlling the coffee borer and to see if this thrips is preying on the coffee berry borers in other coffee producing countries. For the full story, please view http://www.sripmc.org/news_popover.cfm?id=4153.

Photo of green Arabica coffee berries growing in Kona, Hawaii.