Pachnoda interrupta (Olivier)


Common name:	Sorghum Chafer
Ethiopian name:	Dinza

Order:	Coleoptera
Family:	Scarabaeidae

HOSTS:
Main hosts:	Sorghum, Pearl millet, Maize
Alternative hosts:	Flowers of cotton, Citrus spp, and few other plants

IMPORTANCE IN ETHIOPIA:
Major pest of:	Sorghum

DISTRIBUTION IN ETHIOPIA:
	Especially serious in the North of Ethiopia at altitudes below 2000 m above sea level.

DAMAGE:
	The adult beetles eat the grains in the milky stage.

INSECT BIOLOGY & RECOGNITION:
Egg:	The spherical eggs have a diameter of 1.6-1.7 mm. They are straw coloured.
Larva:	White grubs which probably feed on cattle dung.
Pupa:	Pupation takes place in the soil in an earthen cocoon.
Adult:	Adults are large beetles of up to 15 mm long. The colour is black with red or yellow spots. However, colouration is very variable, from nearly complete black to complete pale yellow individuals. Pachnoda interrupta. Adult beetles, 3 colour varieties, length 15-17 mm.

Text adapted from:

INSECT PESTS OF CEREALS IN ETHIOPIA identification and control methods by Hein Bijlmakers, FAO/UNDP Project ETH/86/029 Crop Protection Phase II, Addis Ababa, October 1989