Illustrated Science: Defending the Coffee Tree at the Biological Institute

In 1924, the first major infestation of the coffee berry borer occurred, a pest identified since 1913 in São Paulo coffee plantations.

There was also the Drawing and Photomicrography Section and the Photography Section, which supported the research of the other sections.

The artists' work was guided by the researcher. Using equipment such as microscopes or photographs, they produced illustrations depicting the physical characteristics and actions of the pathologies and their agents.

The coffee borer beetle was probably the most studied, photographed, and illustrated coffee pest at the Biological Institute, appearing in this collection from the 1920s until approximately the 1960s.

The coffee berry borer (Hypothenemus hampei) is a small insect with a high proliferation capacity. The female—the only one that flies—land on the canopy of the coffee beans at different stages of ripeness, burrowing into the fruit.

It lays its eggs in the chambers and galleries it has dug. After hatching, the larvae feed on the coffee, causing damage such as fruit drop and loss of both weight and quality. Large infestations can cause serious losses to production.

In 1929, Adolph Hempel was sent to Kampala, Uganda, to study and bring back specimens of a small wasp that was a natural enemy of the borer.

Ugandan Wasps (Prorops nasuta) were bred at the Institute and distributed on a large scale from 1930 onwards.

They entered the seeds infested by the borer and laid their eggs. After hatching, they began to feed on their larvae and pupae.

During the purging process, the harvested coffee was exposed to carbon disulfide vapors and sealed in airtight chambers.

In the 1940s, chemical control was discouraged due to the low effectiveness of insecticides known to exterminate the insect and the significant damage to coffee. In the 1970s, endosulfan began to be used to combat the borer.

The coffee weevil (Araecerus fasciculatus) is a small beetle that attacks coffee pods in bins and stored beans. Its larvae penetrate the coffee and corrode the bean, creating galleries. This action results in a decrease not only in its weight but also in its quality.

To combat it, the infested bags were subjected to purging chambers or “tents” with methyl bromide in the warehouses themselves, in addition to the dusting of insecticide in these environments.

The chain mealybug, or coffee wart (Cerococcus catenarius), sucks sap intensely, which can dry out the coffee plant's tip and permanently affect its productivity.

Coffee rust is caused by the fungus Hemileia vastatrix, which has great potential for dispersal, as its spores can be carried by wind and rain. It causes defoliation and drying of branches, impairing the formation of flower buds in the following harvest.