Brachycerus muricatus (garlic weevil)

Attacked bulbs of Liliaceae are internally hollowed. Damage to garlic can involve one or more cloves. Around the hollowed parts, the external membrane is sunken and soft to the touch and there is often a dark plug present, composed of larval faecal droppings mixed with other debris.Occasionally, adults may devour the shoots growing from bulbs, causing vegetative growth to stop.

Cultural Control and Sanitary Methods

In areas at risk from local infestations, control measures are recommended and are essentially aimed at preventing adult migrations from nearby fields. As these insects are apterous and relatively heavy, a ditch with vertical walls (at least 20 cm deep) or strips of laminated plastic or aluminium (projecting 5-10 cm out of the ground) along the field border, represent effective control methods. Because the presence of wild Liliaceae near garlic crops favours the pest's survival, their elimination is recommended.

B. muricatus is a frequent and serious pest of garlic crops recorded from Italy, France, Spain and northern Africa. In the Campania region (southern Italy), it has caused up to 10% of bulb losses in some years (Espinosa et al., 1991). In Spain, damage of 2-4% in watered garlic crops and 6-8% in unwatered fields were observed (Gómez-Clemente, 1934). Damage to other hosts (Muscari comosus and Tulipa spp.) is less common.