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Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Western Australia, Series 3

Keywords

Western Australia, Insects, Pest control, Black beetle, Entomology

Disciplines

Entomology

First Page Number

64

Last Page Number

69

ISSN

0021-8618

Abstract

The black beetle (Heteronychus sanctae-helenae Blanchard) is a native of South Africa which seems to have first gained a footing in Australia in about 1930, for it was then recorded as a pest of maize in New South Wales. (Gurney 1934). The first reports of the beetle in Western Australia came from Albany in 1938 when some damage to potatoes was experienced. Since that date the beetle has gradually spread and it is now common in the metropolitan area where it infests golf greens, tennis courts and similar turf areas. It is also gradually increasing in importance as a market garden pest, especially where crops are grown on river flats and other areas favourable to the build-up of beetle populations.

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Entomology Commons

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