Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata (2008) 127, 125-132

Allan T. Showler (2008)
Longevity and egg development of adult female boll weevils fed exclusively on different parts and stages of cotton fruiting bodies
Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 127 (2), 125-132
Abstract: The capacities of the rind (i.e., the developing calyx and petals of squares; and the outer casing, or husk, of bolls) and the internal reproductive portion of cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L. (Malvaceae), squares of three sizes, and bolls of three ages to influence adult female boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), longevity and egg production were evaluated in laboratory bioassays. While feeding on the reproductive portion of squares was expected to support adult boll weevils for considerable periods of time (e.g., medium square reproductive portion: ~185 days), feeding on rinds also resulted in substantial longevity (e.g., medium square rind: ~120 days). As anticipated, feeding on the reproductive portion of squares resulted in formation of chorionated eggs in mated females, but a diet comprised exclusively of rinds, particularly from large squares, was associated with gravidity and high fecundity relative to rinds of young and mature bolls. The reproductive portion and rind of post-bloom and young bolls as sources of food resulted in limited gravidity while mature bolls were not associated with any egg formation. These findings further our understanding of how boll weevils feed on different parts of the cotton plant and how those parts as food sources are related to the biology and ecology of the boll weevil.
(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): Allan T. Showler

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.
	Anthonomus grandis	Cotton (Gossypium)