Sweet potato weevils

Catalogue Type

Plant Pests Catalogue

Scientific Name

Cylas spp

Family

Brentidae

Distinguishing Characters

The body, legs, and head are long and thin, giving it an ant-like appearance. The head is black, the antennae, thorax and legs orange to reddish brown, and the abdomen and elytra are metallic blue. The snout is slightly curved and about as long as the thorax; the antennae are attached at about the mid point on the snout. The beetle appears smooth and shiny, but close examination shows a layer of short hairs. The adult measures 5.5 to 8.0 mm in length.

Host Crop

Sweet Potato

Order

Coleoptera

Photo of Insect

Photo of Damaged Crop

Description

They are insect pests that can cause severe damage to sweet potatoes.

The larvae cause the most damage by feeding on the stems and storage roots.

When weevil populations are high, more than one preventive method should be used such as: use of clean planting material, planting early in
season and/or using early maturing varieties, selecting deep rooting varieties or earthing up the
soil around the base of the plant, removal of crop residues and volunteer plants, and crop rotation.