Cashew stem girdler (Paranaleptes reticulata)
Adults are a long horn beetles, with a body length of 25-35 mm and with antennae longer that the body. The head and the thorax are dark brown; the wing cases are orange with large black blotches giving them a reticulate appearance. Adult beetles girdle branches from 3-8 mm in diameter leaving a V-section cut; only a narrow, central pillar round the pith zone is left, which eventually breaks off. Female beetles lay elongated eggs in transverse slits made in the bark of the girdled branch at points above the girdle. Larvae are yellow, in colour and reaches a length of 45 mm when fully grown. They mine in dead wood of the girdled branches. Pupation takes place in the dead wood. The lifecycle takes one year. This beetle is a common but usually minor pest of cashew in the Coast Province of Kenya. However, neglected plantations may be severely damaged. It is also present in Tanzania.
- Once a year (in November or December) collect and burn all girdled branches should be collected and burned. Only the dead or dying part of the branch above the girdle needs to be collected.
