A cheap way to protect coffee crops from boring beetles

FEW PESTS wreak more havoc on coffee plantations than the berry-borer beetle. In Brazil alone its depredations are reckoned to cost $300m a year, so keeping the insects under control is a priority for plantation owners around the world. That is easier said than done. Berry borers spend most of their lives inside the berries. Their eggs hatch there. Their larvae feed, grow and pupate there. And their adults mate there. Only pregnant females seeking another berry to lay their eggs actually see the light of day. This makes attacking the beetles with insecticides tricky.Researchers have, however, known for some time that a species of Central American ant called is adept at keeping berry-borer populations at bay. These ants live in trees grown alongside coffee bushes to provide shade—for coffee bushes do not thrive in direct sunlight. In particular, the ants prefer to nest in a tree called the cuaniquil.