Seed Wasp on Multiflora Rose, Rosa multiflora, in Virginia
- 1 July 1988
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Weed Technology
- Vol. 2 (3) , 265-268
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0890037x00030554
Abstract
Multiflora rose is a major weed in pastures, highway embankments, and recreational areas. A chalcid wasp, Megastigmus aculeatus (Swederus) (Hymenoptera: Torymidae), which feeds on the multiflora rose seeds, is a potential biological control agent for this weed. Distribution of multiflora rose and the seed wasp was studied from 1983 to 1986 in Virginia. Multiflora achenes collected from 58 sites in 51 counties showed that M. aculeatus was present in all but one of the counties surveyed; female:male sex ratio was high (94:1), indicating parthenogenesis. Infestation rates of the achenes averaged 26.5% in 1985 and 23.9% in 1986. Severe winter temperatures appear to affect the wasp population adversely.Keywords
This publication has 6 references indexed in Scilit:
- Flora of JapanTaxon, 1966
- Obligatory and facultative insects in rose hips : their recognition and bionomicsPublished by Biodiversity Heritage Library ,1959
- Spreading Tendencies of Multiflora Rose in the SoutheastThe Journal of Wildlife Management, 1950
- Taxonomic and Biological Investigations in the Genus Megastigmus With Particular Reference to the Taxonomy of the Nearctic Species (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea; Callimomidae)The American Midland Naturalist, 1949
- Multiflora Rose for Farm HedgesThe Journal of Wildlife Management, 1946
- A Revision of the North American Species of Megastigmus DalmanAnnals of the Entomological Society of America, 1913