Title
Biological control of puncturevine, Tribulus terrestris, in California after twenty years of activity of introduced weevils
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
1983
Volume Number
28
Source Publication
Entomophaga
Abstract
Fifteen years of field tests were conducted in California on 1,200 plots infested with the annual puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris L.) in order to examine the effect of 2 introduced weevils,Microlarinus lareynii (Jacquelin du Val) andM. lypriformis Wollaston (Col.: Curculionidae), on puncturevine. Since 5 of the 6 series of plots marked a substantial reduction in viable seed production and puncturevine coverage, it is suggested that the 2 introduced weevils curtailed the pucturevine population's capacity to compensate in the natural situation and significantly contributed to the decline in puncturevine density.