ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the distribution, biology, and prospects for managing the pest. The greatest diversity of arthropods associated with sweet potato occurs in South and Central America, where the crop and its many related wild species originated. The West Indian sweet potato weevil, Euscepes postfasciatus, is also a major pest of sweet potato in the South Pacific, Caribbean basin, and some countries of Central and South America. Euscepes postfasciatus populations and damage increased considerably in certain areas where farmers have changed from subsistence to more intensive commercial farming. The successful cultivation of sweet potato on certain islands of the Caribbean basin and South Pacific depends almost entirely on minimizing damage by E. postfasciatus. The placement of the egg by adult females within the sweet potato tissue ensures that the newly emerged larva is in contact with its food source. Unlike C. formicarius, little research has been conducted on management of E. postfasciatus.
