Major Cocoa Insect Pests in the Field
The following are the major insect pests in all the major cocoa growing regions worldwide. The single most important insect is the cocoa pod borer of SE Asia. Next in importance would be the mirids. The mirids differ between regions but they are a formidable enemies in most cacao growing regions.
Common name Latin name Locality
Cocoa beetle
Cocoa pod borer
Cocoa thrips
Leaf-cutting ants
Mealybugs vectors
(many species)

Mirids (Capsids)
(many species)


 Steirastoma breve
Conopomorpha cramerella
Selenothrips rubrocinctus
Atta cephalotes & sexdens
Planococcus citri
Planococcus lilacinus
Planococcoides njalensis
Monalonion spp.
Helopeltis spp.
Sahlbergella singularis
Distantiella theobroma		 Caribbean Basin
S.E. Asia
Latin America
Latin America
Cosmopolitan
Sri Lanka to New Guinea
West Africa
Latin America
S.E. Asia & Africa
Sierra Leone to Zaire
Côte D'Ivoire to Nigeria
Extensive lists of references are available for mirids and cocoa pod borer.

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