Melanotus cribricollis

Candeze, 1860

Melanotus cribricollis is a click beetle (Coleoptera: Elateridae) whose larvae are the of bamboo shoot wireworms, causing significant damage to bamboo forests in China. Larvae feed gregariously on fresh bamboo shoots, with up to nearly 20 individuals per shoot and damage rates reaching 80%. The lives underground throughout its long , making prevention and control difficult. Research has characterized its innate immune system, including a β-1,3-glucan recognition protein gene that mediates defense against fungal such as Metarhizium pingshaense.

Melanotus cribricollis by (c) Wang.QG, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Wang.QG. Used under a CC-BY license.Melanotus cribricollis by KKPCW. Used under a CC BY-SA 4.0 license.

Pronunciation

How to pronounce Melanotus cribricollis: /mɛˈlænətəs ˌkrɪbrɪˈkoʊlɪs/

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Habitat

Bamboo forests; underground in soil

Distribution

Deqing County, Zhejiang Province, China; bamboo forests of Zaoyuan

Diet

Fresh bamboo shoots

Life Cycle

Long ; larval stage is the feeding stage causing damage to bamboo shoots

Behavior

Larvae feed gregariously on bamboo shoots, with up to nearly 20 individuals observed per fresh shoot; lives underground, making detection and control difficult; exhibits innate immune response involving β-GRP-mediated upregulation of antimicrobial (defensin and ) upon fungal ; RNAi suppression of β-GRP increases mortality and downregulates antimicrobial peptide genes

Ecological Role

Significant pest of bamboo forests; target for using fungi such as Metarhizium pingshaense

Human Relevance

Economic pest of bamboo forests with damage rates up to 80%; subject of research on using and fungi; used as model organism for studying insect innate

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