Pacific Pests, Pathogens, Weeds & Pesticides - Online edition

Pacific Pests, Pathogens, Weeds & Pesticides

Coconut sexava treehopper (246)


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Summary

  • Narrow distribution. Indonesia, Oceania. On coconut, nipa, oil palm and sago; other plants attacked are banana, Heliconia, Pandanus, Ravenala (traveller's palm), and sugarcane. Occasionally, severe outbreaks occur.
  • Eggs, mostly in soil; nymphs green or brown, adults 50-60 mm, antennae longer than body; either short or long wings; female with long ovipositor; flight poor; disperse by running or jumping.
  • Outbreaks occur after droughts. The treehoppers feed at night, eating flowers, fruits, and leaves to the midrib.
  • Natural enemies: parasitoid wasps are known.
  • Cultural control: sticky bands or rake soil to expose eggs, but neither method seems practical.
  • Chemical control: none recommended.

Common Name

Coconut treehopper, long-horned grasshopper. They are also known as katydids or bush crickets.

Scientific Name

Sexava is the name given to a number of species of long-horned grasshoppers belonging to several genera: Segestes, Segestidea and Sexava. Those recorded in Papua New Guinea on coconuts are: Sexava nubila, Segestes decoratus, Segestidia leefmansi, Segestidia rufipalpis, Segestidia uniformis, Segestidia defoliara, Segestidia novaeguineae), and oil palm: Segestes decoratus, Segestidia defoliaria, Segestidea novaeguineae. Sexava species are recorded from Solomon Islands.


AUTHOR Grahame Jackson
Information from Young GR (2001) A review of sexava research and control methods in Papua New Guinea. In: Proceedings of the sixth workshop for the tropical agricultural entomologists. Technical Bulletin No. 288, 1998. Darwin. Photos 1-7 Richard Markham, ACIAR, Canberra.

Produced with support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research under project PC/2010/090: Strengthening integrated crop management research in the Pacific Islands in support of sustainable intensification of high-value crop production, implemented by the University of Queensland and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

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