Observations from the field – Carpophilus beetle

Carpophilus beetle

During a recent visit to a Hawkes Bay summerfruit orchard (29 Oct), I was alerted to the presence of significant numbers of Carpophilus beetles in the traps (as shown below) around a cherry block. Both the orchardist and I were a little surprised at the numbers caught. 

Carpophilus beetle trapSome of the key points in the SummerGreen manual on the portal include: 

  • They prefer moist conditions – and there was about 100mm of rain 14 days ago.
  • Beetles will fly when temperatures are above 22˚C and temperatures of that sort of level are being recorded already with 30˚C predicted for Sunday!
  • Thinnings can be a food source, so consider mulching post thinning.
  • They are attracted to ripening fruit, and harvest is about two weeks away on the earliest of the early cherries.

We had a SummerGreen meeting in the winter with Carpophilus as the main discussion point. Traps at sufficient density were seen as a good control method as long as they are put out early enough in the season.

Here we go again.