Biology of predispersal seed predators of the Platte thistle, Cirsium canescens [Homoeosoma stypticellum, Orellia occidentalis, Paracantha culta, Nebraska]

The life history, seed destruction, and population density of the three predispersal seed predators, Paracantha culta (Wiedemann), Orellia occidentalis (Snow) (both Diptera: Tephritidae), and Homoeosoma stypticellum Grote (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) of the native Platte thistle, Cirsium canescens Nutt....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society 1982-04, Vol.55 (2), p.305-316
Main Authors: Lamp, W.O, McCarty, M.K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bracts
Cirsium canescens
Eggs
Entomology
Female animals
Florets
Insect larvae
Instars
Larval development
Orellia occidentalis
Paracantha culta
Predators
Pupae
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Summary:The life history, seed destruction, and population density of the three predispersal seed predators, Paracantha culta (Wiedemann), Orellia occidentalis (Snow) (both Diptera: Tephritidae), and Homoeosoma stypticellum Grote (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) of the native Platte thistle, Cirsium canescens Nutt., were studied from 1977 through 1979. Each species oviposited during a different developmental stage of the seed head, so the larvae fed at primarily different times. Egg and larval distributions of O. occidentalis were negatively correlated with the larval distribution of P. culta at one site. P. culta larvae destroyed the greatest number of seeds per larva, whereas O. occidentalis larvae destroyed the least. The seed predators attacked an average of 97% of the Platte thistle seed heads at a site, although the predominant insect species varied among sites.
ISSN:0022-8567
1937-2353