Association between Hypothenemus hampei (Coleoptera : Scolytidae) and Fusarium solani (Moniliales : Tuberculariaceae)

The fungus Fusarium solani (Martius) Saccardo was isolated from adult femal es of Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) from 2 different populations (Tapachula , Chipas, Mexico; and Allada, Benin, Africa), F. solani was isolated from 6 0% of H. hampei females reared on an artificial diet for 3 generations, fro m 90% of field-collected female beetles from Tapachula, Chiapas, Mexico, an d from 100% of field-collected female beetles from Allada, Benin. The seque nces of the internal transcribed spacer regions of the nuclear rDNA of the isolates from Mexico and Benin were similar to each other and to published sequences of F. solani (asexual states of Nectria hematococca). The possibi lity of a symbiotic association between F. solani and H. hampei is discusse d.