Host Plant Phenology Affects Performance of an Invasive Weevil, Phyllobius oblongus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in a Northern Hardwood Forest

• Published in: Environmental entomology Vol. 39; no. 5; pp. 1539 - 1544
• Main Authors: Coyle, David R, Jordan, Michelle S, Raffa, Kenneth F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Lanham, MD Entomological Society of America 01-10-2010
• Subjects: Acer - growth & development; Acer saccaharum; Acer saccharum; adult insects; Age Distribution; Animal and plant ecology; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Autoecology; Biological and medical sciences; Coleoptera; Curculionidae; Ecosystem; exotic species; feed intake; feeding behavior; Female; folivore; Food Preferences; forest pests; forest trees; Forestry; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; General forest ecology; Generalities. Production, biomass. Quality of wood and forest products. General forest ecology; hardwood forests; Herbivory; host plants; host preferences; indeterminate growth; insect reproduction; invasive species; leaves; Longevity; Male; Michigan; mortality; Oviposition; Pest Control; phenology; Phyllobius; Phyllobius oblongus; Plant Leaves - growth & development; PLANT-INSECT INTERACTIONS; Plants and fungi; Rosaceae - growth & development; Rubus; Saccharum; seasonal variation; temperate forests; understory; Weevils - physiology; Michigan; North America, Great Lakes; Deciduous forest; Introduced species; Feeding behavior; Coleoptera; Insecta; Rosaceae; Rubus; folivore; Aceraceae; Pest; Acer saccharum; Phenology; Animal plant relation; plant-insect interactions; Arthropoda; Dicotyledones; Host plant; exotic species; Angiospermae; Hardwood forest tree; Spermatophyta; Acer saccaharum; Curculionidae; Invertebrata
• ISSN: 0046-225X; 1938-2936
• DOI: 10.1603/EN09381

We investigated how host plant phenology and plant species affected longevity, reproduction, and feeding behavior of an invasive weevil. Phyllobius oblongus L. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) is common in northern hardwood forests of the Great Lakes Region. Adults emerge in spring, feed on foliage of woody understory plants, and oviposit in the soil. Preliminary data indicate that adults often feed on sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marshall, foliage early in the season, then feed on other species such as raspberry, Rubus spp. Whether this behavior reflects temporal changes in the quality of A. saccharum tissue or merely subsequent availability of later-season plants is unknown. We tested adult P. oblongus in laboratory assays using young (newly flushed) sugar maple foliage, old (2–3 wk postflush) sugar maple foliage, and raspberry foliage. Raspberry has indeterminate growth, thus always has young foliage available for herbivores. Survival, oviposition, and leaf consumption were recorded. In performance assays under no-choice conditions, mated pairs were provided one type of host foliage for the duration of their lives. In behavioral choice tests, all three host plants were provided simultaneously and leaf area consumption was compared. Adults survived longer on and consumed greater amounts of young maple and raspberry foliage than old maple foliage. P. oblongus preferred young maple foliage to old maple foliage early in the season, however, later in the growing season weevils showed less pronounced feeding preferences. These results suggest how leaf phenology, plant species composition, and feeding plasticity in host utilization may interact to affect P. oblongus population dynamics.