Agricultural and Forest Entomology (2006) 8, 121-128

Riitta Toivonen and Heli Viiri (2006)
Adult large pine weevils Hylobius abietis feed on silver birch Betula pendula even in the presence of conifer seedlings
Agricultural and Forest Entomology 8 (2), 121-128
Abstract: 1 The feeding preference of the adult pine weevil Hylobius abietis (L.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) for Betula pendula Roth was studied in no-choice and paired-choice feeding experiments.
2 In the first no-choice test, large quantities of silver birch bark in Petri dishes were consumed; on average, the daily consumption of each weevil was 67 mm².
3 In the second no-choice test, the weevils were offered 1-year-old silver birch seedlings for 6 days. Initially, the weevils fed mostly on the stem bases; later, they moved upward to feed on other parts of the stems. In addition to the main shoots, scars caused by gnawing were also found on leaf bases, blades, veins and petioles. Feeding resulted in the death of the main stems in 15% of the seedlings.
4 In the paired-choice tests, the conifers were preferred to silver birch, even though a large amount of silver birch was also consumed in the presence of conifers.
5 In the paired-choice tests, equal amounts of Scots pine and Norway spruce were always consumed. When hybrid aspen was offered, only small amounts were gnawed.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Heli Viiri

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Hylobius abietis	Spruce (Picea)
	Hylobius abietis	Pine (Pinus)
	Hylobius abietis	Birch (Betula)