Coconut rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros, is a major pest of coconut and oil palm. The preferred biological control agent for this pest is Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV). Isolates of OrNV are currently maintained and propagated in vitro using a cell line of African black beetle, Heteronychus arator, as host material. There may be some advantages in using O. rhinoceros cells instead of H. arator cells as host material. In this poster, we document our attempt to develop a sustainable O. rhinoceros cell line.
