First Report of the Association of Phloeonemus interruptus with Persian Lime in Central Veracruz, Mexico.

Several Persian lime trees were found to exhibit dieback and yellowing during monitoring of the intensity of Huanglongbing disease on a 6-year-old commercial Persian lime orchard in San Rafael, Veracruz, Mexico, between August and October 2022. During the examination of the trees, we discovered small holes on the bark of the main stem and lower branches, significant cracking of the bark, and beetles crawling on the surface. Removal of the bark on the crevices showed the presence of larvae and adults plausibly feeding from the inner bark tissue. Phloeonemus interruptus (Coleoptera: Zopheridae) adults were found. Although it is unknown whether P. interruptus will become invasive, this study confirmed that it is associated with Persian lime trees. Thus, this serves as a bellwether to warn of the potential direct damage or transmission of fungi or oomycetes, such as those in the genera Lasiodiplodia and Phytophthora. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of the association of Phloeonemus interruptus with Persian lime (Citrus latifolia Tan. Rutaceae) in the central region of Veracruz, Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]