FARM PROGRESS - If ever there were not enough reasons for tree nut farmers to be diligent about winter sanitation, they now have one more with the discovery of a new invasive beetle that overwinters in mummy nuts.
This new beetle – Carpophilus truncatus (Nitidulidae) – is a known pest of almonds in Australia, where they have been dealing with infestations for almost a decade now. More recently there have been reports of similar Carpophilus beetles infesting walnuts in Argentina and Italy.
Now we can add California to that list. Beetle infestations were observed in almond and pistachio orchards earlier this fall, and specimens collected by the University of California Cooperative Extension were subsequently confirmed as Carpophilus truncatus by the California Department of Food and Agriculture, according to Houston Wilson, associate Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Riverside. So far, the presence of the beetle has been confirmed from orchards in Stanislaus, Merced, Madera, and Kings counties. Wilson and colleagues are now conducting a broader regional survey of orchards throughout the rest of the San Joaquin Valley.