ABSTRACT A preliminary study was carried out on the “occurrence of the oil palm pollinator insect species on oil palm and the relationship of the major pollinator insect species Elaeidobious kamerunicus to oil palm yield in Ghana”. The result showed that pollinator insect species that occurred on oil palm inflorescences were mainly coleopterans. Not all the insect species that were commonly found occurred on both the male and female inflorescences. The common insect species encountered were: Elaeidobious plagiatus, E. singularis, E. kamerunicus, E. bilineatus, E. subvittatus, Microporum congolenses, M. dispar, Atheta sp, Prosoestus sculptilis and P. minor. Elaeidobious subvittatus occurrence was the most common insect species monthly, on the male inflorescence throughout the years 2007, 2008 and 2009. E. kamerunicus occurrence was also the most frequent among the pollinator insect species found on the female inflorescence. E. plagiatus, E. singularis, E. bilineatus, E. subvittatus, M. congolenses, M. dispar, Atheta sp., P. sculptilis and P. minor occurrence on female oil palm inflorescence was low. Their individual contribution to successful female oil palm pollination was therefore very low. P. sculptilis and P. minor did not occur on the male inflorescence. Likewise E. bilineatus, M.congolenses, Atheta species and E. plagiatus rarely occurred on the female inflorescence. There was a positive correlation between occurrence of E. kamerunicus and mean oil palm fresh fruit bunch weight in 2008 and 2009. The highest fresh fruit bunch weight was obtained in December, 2009 and lowest in January, 2006.
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