Mangoes are the third most important fruit crop in Kenya, contributing greatly to the economy. They are native to India but spread to other parts of the world. Makueni County is the largest producer of mangoes in Kenya. Mangoes are a good source of vitamins and minerals and provide household income in producing regions. Several insects pests affect mangoes in Kenya such as the mango seed weevil, fruit fly, mealybugs, whiteflies, leaf galling midge, and scales. Integrated pest management is the most effective control method and includes fruit scouting, proper sanitation, quarantine, and use of natural enemies.

1. Joseph Odingo
A56/37223/2020

2. Mango (Mangifera indica L.) belongs to the family
Anacardiaceae and is native to India from where it spread
to other parts of the world.
Mangoes contribute greatly to the economy of Kenya, as
it is the third most important fruit in Kenya in terms of
area and total production.
The fruit is a good source of vitamins and mineral needs
and as a major source of household
Income in the producing regions.

3. Main producing counties are
 Makueni (30%),
 Machakos (23%),
 Kilifi (16%),
 Kwale (8%),
 Meru (4.5%),
 Embu (2.8%),
 Bungoma (2.1%),
 Tana River (1.8%),
 Elgeyo Marakwet (1.1%)
 Murang’a (1.1%).

4.  Sternochetus mangiferae (Coleoptera;Curculionidae).
 It’s a monophagous insect which completes its life
cycle, from egg to adult, within the mango seed
 Spread mainly by transportation of infested fruits
 Larvae penetrate the fruit and eat their way to the seed
where they feed and develop into adult weevils
 Adults cut their way out of the naked seed with their
mouthparts, after the fruit falls and decays

6.  Bactrocera invadens is a Diptera belonging to family
Tephritidae.
 It is an inversive species that originated from Asia and was
first detected in Kenya in 2003
 A female fly pricks the skin of mature fruits using
ovipositor and then deposit eggs that are banana shaped and
white in color in batches if 6-10 eggs in to the mesocarp
 Affected fruit will have tiny marks of oviposition on the
skin and rotting of the fruit will occur as a result of the
feeding of larvae and the pulp will produce a bad odour

8.  They belong to order Homoptera and Pseudococcidae
family.
 They are small, flat, soft bodied insects with a distinctive
segmentation.
 Their body is covered with a white woolly secretion.
 They excrete honeydew on which sooty mould develops.
They suck sap from tender leaves, petioles and fruits
 A single female lays up to 400–500 eggs.
 Damage is caused by feeding by nymphs and female adults
throughout the developmental period. They remain
stationary and adhere to the total length of panicles and
shoots. Affected panicles shrivel and get dried

10. Are small (1.1 to 2.5 mm long), brown, black or reddish
brown aphid covered with a light powdery dusting.
They live in clusters sucking sap on the underside of
young leaves, on petioles, young branches and fruit

12.  They belong to order Homoptera and Aleyrodidae family.
 They suck sap from leaves and may weaken the plants
when numbers are high.
 They produce large amount of honeydew where sooty
mould develops.
 High numbers of these insects can almost blacken trees,
reducing photosynthesis and may cause leaf drop
debilitating the tree.
 Adults are small (1-3 mm long), with 2 pairs of wings that
are held roof-like over the body. They resemble very small
moths.

14. (Erosomyia mangifera)
 It is a small midge about 1 to 2 mm long with long legs and
antenna. They have a wing length of 1.0-1.5 mm.
 The female lays eggs singly into the tissue of young leaves,
on the under surface, leaving a small reddish spot.
 The eggs hatch within 2-3 days
 Larvae penetrate the tender parts where the eggs have been
laid and start feeding on them. They bore inside leaf tissue,
and feed within, resulting in formation of small raised wart-
like galls on the leaves
 Adults emerge from the underside of the leaf leaving the
pupal skin protruding from the emergence hole. These holes
may serve as entrance for fungal infections

16.  Scales are small (1 to 7 mm long), generally immobile insects,
varying in color and shape according to the species.
 Over 70 scale insects are reported attacking mango
 The adult females are wingless, while the males are winged. The
female leads a stationary life on the plant parts and suck the cell
sap.
 Adult female produces numerous minute eggs in a pouch. On
hatching, larvae crawl to the tender parts of the plants and shortly
attach themselves at a spot
 In severe infestation, the growth and fruit setting capacity of the
tree is adversely affected.
 Feeding by scales may cause yellowing of leaves followed by
leaf drop, poor growth, dieback of branches, fruit drop, and
blemishes on fruits

18.  It is tiny (about 0.2 mm), light colored and cigar shaped. It
cannot be seen with the naked eye.
 It is widely distributed in the tropics, infesting all varieties
of mango trees.
 The mite produces a white colored leaf coating on the
adaxial surface of mango leaves, which extends to the entire
leaf lamina in severely infested leaves. The white coating
can be easily rubbed off by hand.
 They leave in groups under a white coating on the upper
leaf surface. Leaves covered with the white coating tend to
turn yellow and drop prematurely. In general, the coating
has minimal effect on fruit yield.

20.  The adult of the red banded thrips is reported as a pest of
mangoes in Kenya.
 Adult are dark brown, about 1 mm long. Immature thrips
(nymphs) are yellow with a bright red band around the base of
the abdomen.
 Nymphs and adults feed together, normally on the underside of
the leaves. Attacked leaves become dark stained and rusty in
appearance with small shiny black excreta present. Leaf edges
are curled.
 Several other species of thrips are found on mango flowers.
However, not all of them are pests as some are important
pollinators
 Thrips feeding on the fruit surface causes a rough, greyish white
discolouration.

22.  Several species of bugs feed on mangoes. Both adults
and nymphs (young stages) feed inserting their needle-
like mouthparts in young tissue, causing dieback and
tip wilting.
 Other feed on the fruit, causing fruit fall and fruit
deformation.
 Coconut bug, Tip wilters and Helopeltis bugs are pest
of mango

24.  Integrated pest management is the most effective method of
controlling the insects
 Regular fruit scouting is important to detect adult activity
during fruit growth in most pests
 Proper sanitation by collecting and destroying all scattered
mango seeds and fallen fruit. All collected fruit and seeds
should be buried deeply (about 50 cm deep).
 Ensuring quarantine by restricting movement of fruit from
old orchards or areas known to have mango pests
 Use of natural enemies e.g. beetles to control the population
of insects