Screening spruce for white pine weevil resistance
- Project description
- Distribution of P. strobi in North America
- Genetic variation in canadian weevil populations
- Range of Sitka spruce
- Sources tested for resistance in Western North America
- White pine weevil resistance screening trials
- Mass screening for resistance (Jordan River plantation)
- Ghost trial: studies using caged insects clarified the mating system of weevils
- Artificial wounding studies: Studying plant defenses
- Insect - plant relationships
- Are weevil resistant trees also resistant to other insects?
- Conclusions
- Selected references
Ghost trial: studies using caged insects clarified the mating system of weevils
Studies conducted by Kornelia Lewis, Yousry El-Kassaby and René Alfaro disclosed that weevils can live more than one year and are able to lay fertile eggs in the second season without mating again. Females were able to store sperm from several males through the overwintering period. Thus, dispersing female weevils mated only in the first year of life can start an outbreak in the second year without participation of the male. This makes outbreak development much more likely.
Project status
- On-going