Description of Melolonthidae (Coleoptera) third instar larvae associated to Agave tequilana var. Azul and their population fluctuation in Jalisco, Mexico

Third instars of white grubs of six species associated to agave tequilero in Jalisco, México were described from 1,145 specimens collected from soil samples from September 2006 to August 2007, in the municipalities of Ixtlahuacán del Río, Tepatitlán de Morelos and San Juan de Escobedo, Jalisco, México. Diagnostic characters were illustrated and a key was also included. Cyclocephala comata (Bates) was the most abundant species (63.2%), followed by Phyllophaga ravida (Blanchard) (21.9%), Phyllophaga polyphylla (Bates) (9.4%), Phyllophaga misteca (Bates) (4.1%), Strategus aloeus (L.) (1.1%) and Anomala hoepfneri (Bates) (0.3%). Phyllophaga ravida and A. hoepfneri are reported for the first time on the agave plant and the latter is a new record for the State of Jalisco. All Melolonthidae species showed a marked seasonality with lower number of larvae in June 2007 and high number in August 2007, which is associated with the region's rainy season and the agave plant age, respectively.

Phyllophaga; Cyclocephala; Anomala; larva; white grub