Environmental Entomology (2008) 37, 520-524

Paul A. Weston, Maria D. Diaz and Gaylord A. Desurmont (2008)
Ovipositional biology of viburnum leaf beetle, Pyrrhalta viburni (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
Environmental Entomology 37 (2), 520-524
Abstract: Pyrrhalta viburni Paykull, a new landscape pest in the United States, feeds in both the larval and adult stages on foliage of plants in the genus Viburnum. We measured lifetime oviposition capacity of mated and unmated females reared in the laboratory versus field-collected females, as well as ovipositional response to physical characteristics of the host plant. Both mated and unmated females produced eggs, but at different rates. Field-collected females and mated females reared in the laboratory laid similar numbers of egg masses containing similar numbers of eggs, but unmated females laid approximately one half as many eggs, the result primarily of smaller clutch size. Mated females reared in the laboratory had a preovipositional period of 11.4 ± 1.7 versus 29 + 11.7 d for unmated females, and unmated females lived significantly longer than mated females. The angle and diameter of stems of V. trilobum, a very susceptible host, both greatly influenced oviposition; females laid most eggs on vertically oriented stems, and those of smallest diameter; when these factors were combined, stem diameter predominated. Females also had a very strong geotactic response, preferring to lay eggs on portions of stems toward gravity, even when stems were at fairly shallow angles.
(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): Gaylord A. Desurmont

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.
	Pyrrhalta viburni	Viburnum (crop)	U.S.A. (NE)