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Published:
Aug 17, 2018
Keywords:
eucalyptus snout beetle
nutritional indices
forest health.

Abstract

Eucalyptus trees are among the most important forest resources in Argentina. The weevils of the genus Gonipterus are specialist insects that feed on their leaves. The objectives of this work were to estimate larval consumption and to evaluate the oviposition preference of G. pulverulentus among different species of Eucalyptus. Developmental time, consumption, final weight and some nutritional indexes were evaluated from cohorts of larvae grown on five different Eucalyptus species. Ovipositional preference was evaluated by a multiple choice assay. Five couples were placed in the center of a cage, together with a branch of each Eucalyptus species. The oothecae and the eggs inside them were counted for 12 days. Larval developmental times did not differ among the Eucalyptus species tested, although differences in final weight were observed. The larvae that consumed E. maidenii almost doubled the weight of those fed on E. camaldulensis. Maximum consumption was observed on larvae feeding on E. globulus and it was significantly higher than that of larvae feeding on the E. viminalis. The efficiency of conversion of ingested food of the larvae fed with E. viminalis was significantly larger than that recorded on E. globulus and E. camaldulensis. The choice experiment shows that females had no ovipositional preference. These results indicate that E. viminalis and E. camaldulensis are the species of higher and lower nutritional quality respectively for the development of G. pulverulentus.

María Riquelme Virgala
Gisela Di Silvestro
Carmen Martínez
Marina Santadino
Teresita Poretti
Agustina Ansa
Carlos Coviella
Author Biographies

María Riquelme Virgala, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Departamento de Tecnología, Laboratorio de Zoología Agrícola, Luján, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Universidad Nacional de Luján, Programa de Ecología Terrestre, INEDES-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Marina Santadino, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Departamento de Tecnología, Laboratorio de Zoología Agrícola, Luján, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Universidad Nacional de Luján, Programa de Ecología Terrestre, INEDES-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Teresita Poretti, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Universidad Nacional de Luján, Programa de Ecología Terrestre, INEDES-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Agustina Ansa, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Departamento de Tecnología, Laboratorio de Zoología Agrícola, Luján, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Universidad Nacional de Luján, Programa de Ecología Terrestre, INEDES-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Carlos Coviella, Universidad Nacional de Luján, Departamento de Ciencias Básicas, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Universidad Nacional de Luján, Programa de Ecología Terrestre, INEDES-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

How to Cite
Riquelme Virgala, M., Di Silvestro, G., Martínez, C., Santadino, M., Poretti, T., Ansa, A., & Coviella, C. (2018). Larval consumption and oviposition preference of Gonipterus pulverulentus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) among different species of Eucalyptus (Myrtaceae). Revista Bosque, 39(2), 291–297. Retrieved from https://revistabosque.org/index.php/bosque/article/view/360

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