Oviposition patterns and the supplementary role of a seed-feeding weevil, Rhyssomatus marginatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in the biological control of a perennial leguminous weed, Sesbania punicea

Abstract

AbstractA seed-feeding curculionid, Rhyssomatus marginatus Fåhraeus, was introduced into South Africa for biological control of a perennial leguminous weed, Sesbania punicea, from South America. R. marginatus has become established even though its larval food source, seeds in ripening pods, is severely depleted by another biological control agent, an apionid, Trichapion lativentre (Beguin Billecocq), which destroys nearly all the flower-buds produced by the plants and reduces seed-set by 98% on average. In spite of this indirect competition, R. marginatus destroys up to 88% of the remaining seeds that develop on S. punicea, regardless of host plant location. Detrimental intraspecific interactions between larvae of R. marginatus are minimized, and the utilization of a depleted food source is optimized, through meticulous selection of oviposition sites by the female weevils. Although numerically inferior, R. marginatus is an important supplementary agent to T. lativentre and together the two species of weevils have almost arrested the reproductive potential of S. punicea.