Studies on Rhabdionvirus oryctes: II. Effect on adults of Oryctes rhinoceros

Rhabdionvirus oryctes multiplies in adults of Oryctes rhinoceros. Adults and larvae of O. rhinoceros showed no significant difference in their susceptibility to the virus when it was inoculated into the hemocoel. Adults, collected from the natural population in Western Samoa, were found to be frequently infected with Rhabdionvirus. In the laboratory the infected adults had a shorter life-span and laid fewer eggs than the noninfected ones. Infected adults excreted virus material into the surrounding medium. This suggests a possible means of transmission of the virus in the field.