Re: Weevils

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On 05/25/11, at 2:05 AM, Theodore Held wrote:

Jason, and others,

I have seen aphids infecting Lemna minor, but never weevils. I wonder
about the nutrient content of duckweeds. Perhaps there are vitamins or
soluble sugars in Lemna tissue. If weevils and aphids like them it
could mean that harvesting these abundant plants could provide food
for herbivores. It would be sort of like a solar power gathering
device. Do others have any ideas?

Ted Held.

On Mon, May 23, 2011 at 9:48 PM, Jason Hernandez
<j*@yahoo.com> wrote:

Yesterday I was exploring a pond in which 100% of the surface was covered

with Lemna sp. (I rarely bother to identify Lemnoidea to species).  At the

lower end, near the dam, there was also Wolffia sp.  These two aroids formed

such a solid layer that insects could treat it as dry land -- I actually

watched a Pompillid wasp drag a paralyzed spider across the Lemna carpet.

Looking closer, I saw that many of the Lemna fronds had circular or oval

holes eaten in them.  I also noticed some tiny weevils -- each one smaller

than a Lemna frond -- walking about, and I presume these were the

perpetrators of the herbivory.  Has anyone studied these Lemna-eating

weevils?  This was in the Inner Coastal Plain of South Carolina, if that

helps.

Jason Hernandez

Naturalist-at-Large

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