WTB
Location: Israel
July 25, 2011 2:48 am
Hi,
Can you please tell what is this bug?
Signature: Ziv Peled
Hi Ziv,
This is not the first report we have received of a Mango Stem Borer, Batocera rufomaculata, that we have received from Israel. Here is a posting from 2009. The Mango Stem Borer is also known as the Fig Borer in Israel, and here is some information from the cabdirect website: “The fig borer, Batocera rufomaculata, was introduced into Israel, probably from Sri-Lanka, in the early 1950s. Within ten years much of the fig (Ficus carica) plantations had been destroyed by the borer. However, between the early 1960s and the 1980s the borer vanished completely from the scene. It reappeared in the early 1990s. Most reports on its occurrence date from 1997-98. At present, the borer is causing serious damage to fig plantations in the low areas of the north and central areas of Israel.“