Washington, Jan 27 (IANS) There is good news for coffee lovers and growers worldwide. A predator that eliminates the devastating coffee berry borer, a harmful pest, has been discovered in Africa.

Juliana Jaramillo, of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Kenya, and Eric Chapman from University of Kentucky and colleagues have identified predatory thrips (small insects) which feed on eggs and larvae of coffee berry borer.

The discovery could have important implications for the management of the coffee berry borer worldwide. Previous studies were based on mere observations, for example of ants preying on the coffee berry borer.

Coffee berry borer H. hampei is the most widespread coffee pest in coffee producing countries. Yearly coffee losses are estimated at 500 million dollars, affecting the income of more than 20 million rural households in the tropics.

The female coffee borer drills galleries into the coffee berries where she deposits her eggs. The larvae then feed on the coffee berries.

Because the pest's lifecycle occurs mainly inside the coffee berry, H. hampei is very difficult to control, particularly in countries which pride themselves on their organic coffee production.

During routine dissections of coffee berries in Western Kenya, Jaramillo observed, for the first time, adult thrips K. flavipes feeding on eggs of the coffee berry borer.

The authors used molecular techniques to detect the presence of small amounts of prey DNA in the digestive tracts of the predators by analysing their gut contents.

Nearly 18,000 H. hampei-infested coffee berries from 100-150 trees were collected in the Kisii area in Kenya between January and September 2008, says a release of the International Centre of Insect Physiology.

The authors believe that K. flavipes have the potential to significantly curtail H. hampei populations in coffee growing regions.

The report was published online in Springer's journal Naturwissenschaften (The Science of Nature).