Curtiss, H. hampei Plastic Shipping Bag experiment datafile, 2023

Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) is a major pest of coffee worldwide that is believed to be capable of chewing through plastic. A test of H. hampei escape ability from plastic coffee shipping bags has not been performed. In this study, nine bag treatments were tested to measure H. hampei escape rate from shipping bags. In addition, the activity following various drying treatments was measured to determine if mechanical drying is a sufficient method to mitigate H. hampei survival in infested coffee prior to shipping in escape-proof bags. This study determined that H. hampei can chew through some plastic shipping bags, but that adequate drying methods may be useful in mitigating survival prior to shipping. These results may have quarantine implications for shipping unroasted coffee.