Note on Occurrence of Areca White Grub (Coleoptera, Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae, Leucopholini) from Northern Western Ghats and its Implications

Abstract

Abstract Species of the genus Leucopholis are agricultural pests with an enigmatic taxonomic position and inadequate information on its diversity and ecology, particularly in the oriental region. We report the first ever distribution record of an Areca white grub, Leucopholis burmeisteri Brenske, 1894 from the Northern Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India. It is an economically important pest reported to be damaging the cash crops viz., sugarcane, coconut, Areca nut and several other vegetables. In this study the species was re-described with illustration of female specimens. The identity of the species was reconfirmed using DNA barcoding by sequencing the 5’ region of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (mtCOI-5P). The evolutionary history inferred by constructing a phylogenetic tree using Maximum Likelihood method based on the General Time Reversible model showed that L. burmeisteri formed clustered with L. burmeisteri reported from Karnataka thus reconfirming, by molecular means, the evolutionary affinity of the species with other species complex. The threats for the host plants are also discussed. Collection locality map and the images to facilitate the identification are also provided.