How insects enter into Mangoes?

The Scientific name of mango nut weevil is Sternochetus mangiferae Fabr. When Mango fruit in tender stage the weevil puncture the mango and lay about 12-30 eggs. These punctures turns to black or brown marks on the skin. The gum-like substance is secreted and oozes out of the puncture and cover the eggs. These punctures heal in due course as a result of fruits' rippening.

Sometimes, the black marks can be seen even on ripe fruits. From egg to larvae, in a week, larvae is legless. They tunnel through the developing unripened pulp and enter the tender nut which is soft. The nut hardens when fruit matures. The larvae thrive on the cotyledons of the nut. they pupate there after 21 days and dark brown adult emerge. Their life cycle is 35-50 days. Rarely, the adult weevil comes out. So their attack increases the number of fallen fruits. The weevil uses the oxygen present in the fruit for respiration. Thee beetle generally attacks soft-pulped varieties such as neelam, rumani and padhiri.