IN1167--Minor] Rice Water Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Distribution and Management in Florida

Abstract

The rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel, is the most widely distributed and destructive pest of rice, Oryza sativa L., in the United States (Way 1990). The following report provides a description of the rice water weevil, its distribution in the state of Florida, methodology for scouting, and options for managing this pest in commercial rice fields. The rice water weevil belongs to the family Curculionidae and feeds on a wide variety of plants belonging to the families Poaceae and Cyperaceae (Tindall and Stout 2003, Lupi et al. 2009). The rice water weevil is native to the southeastern United States and has been reported from all rice producing states in the United States (Whitehouse et al. 2019). Registered seed and foliar treatments can be applied as preventative control for anticipated economic damage by future weevil populations. Application of this permanent flood is the most important external influence on the interaction between the rice water weevil and rice (Stout et al. 2002).