- Larinus obtusus
Taxobox
name = "Larinus obtusus"
image_width = 240px
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Arthropod a
classis =Insect a
ordo = Coleoptera
familia =Curculionidae
subfamilia =Lixinae
genus = "Larinus "
species = "L. obtusus"
binomial = "Larinus obtusus"
binomial_authority = Gyllenhal, 1836"Larinus obtusus" is a species of true weevil known as the blunt knapweed flower weevil. It is used as an agent of
biological pest control against noxious knapweeds, especially spotted knapweed ("Centaurea maculosa").The adult weevil is dark brown with a large, bulbous snout. It is 5 to 7 millimeters long in total. It is active throughout the summer when the female lays eggs in the opened flower head. The
larva emerges and feeds on the developing seeds inside the head. The larval stage lasts 17 days, after which the larva constructs a cocoon from the remnants of the seeds andpupa tes within it for about nine days. Most of the damage to the plant is done by the larva's feeding on the seeds; the adult feeds on the foliage but does less drastic damage to the plant.This weevil is native to Europe and the Middle East. It was first introduced to the United States for the biocontrol of knapweeds in the early 1990s. It is now established in much of the northwestern United States. This weevil is quite similar to its relative, "
Larinus minutus ", which is also a knapweed specialist used for biocontrol. They are currently considered separate species but this could change with further research.External links
* [http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/weedfeeders/larinus_obtusus.html Cornell Biocontrol Profile]
References
Coombs, E. M., et al., Eds. (2004). "Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the United States". Corvallis: Oregon State University Press, 216.
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
