The Leucoptera Leaf Miners of Coffee on Kilimanjaro. I.—Leucoptera coffeella, Guér

Abstract

Two leaf miners of coffee, Leucoptera coffeella and L. caffeina are present in the Kilimanjaro and Usambara districts of Tanganyika. The life-histories of L. coffeella and its parasites and a study made during 1937–40 of the populations of the host and its parasites in the Kilimanjaro area in both unshaded and shaded coffee are described. Some observations are made on the “dominant stage” of the host.

Coffee leaf miner resistance

“…Some relevant aspects of each of these phases are given in this chapter. The biology of L. coffeella has been investigated by various authors (Fonseca, 1949;Notley, 1948;Speer, 1949;Katiyar and Ferrer, 1968;Walker and Quintana, 1969;Parra, 1985).…”

“…At moderate temperatures, around 20 o C, the larval phase varies from 16 to 26 days (Parra, 1985). The coffee leaf miner has four larval instars (Notley, 1948), and one can find various caterpillars of different instars; consequently there is a lack of cannibalism.…”

“…Under these conditions, about 95 % reach the adult phase, five days after the caterpillars had transformed into pupae (Parra, 1985). The pupal phase is shorter in females than in males (Notley, 1948;Katiyar and Ferrer, 1968).…”

“…Pre-oviposition period -Mating mainly occurs at night (Notley, 1948), though it can also take place in the morning, after the dew dries (Walker and Quintana, 1969). The temperature is inversely related to the length of the period that precedes oviposition, with a mean of 3.6 days for females maintained at 20 o C and 0.5 days for females maintained at 30 o C (Parra, 1985).…”

“…At higher temperatures (30ºC), the inverse occurred, probably due to crystallization of the sucrose, making it unavailable. The number of eggs per female is quite variable; on average, females place 75 eggs in 13.4 days on the leaves of susceptible coffee plants (Notley, 1948), with the largest number of eggs laid on day four.…”