Pest Weevil
on 18th February 2012
This critter I know well!
When we lived in Bellville, and now in Bergvleit, this beast determines which species will live and which will fail.
Only 3-5mm long, it climbs up the stalks, hiding on the stem - cunningly staying on the side opposite from one. From there it chews off the stalks of leaves, I dont know if "maliciously' or if accidentally while eating the stalk. They mate up on the tops of the stalks as well.
Only species with hairy stalks and large bracts seem to survive this goggo predictably. Others obviously have poisons and are not easy to predict. But Sweatpeas, Pawpaws, Port St John Creepers dont stand a chance, and even Dipogon - that serious invader of the tropics - is reduced from a healthy 3m tall climber from the nursery, to and handful of leaves within 3 months.
Since we avoid poisons, growing indigenous plants is simply finding out what this weevil does not like. Fortunately it avoids Proteaceae, Ericaceae, Pelargoniums and monocots, but it does like some Buchus.
Handpicking and crushing them works well, but any lack of vigilence or holiday results in a "revenge" attack. Its easier to just select plants which fight back.
Other observations of an indigenous pest weevil (Ellimenistes laesicollis)
Comments
Grey Coffee Snoutbeetle
Thanks
It is in Annecke and Moran 1982 (73) as the Grey Coffee Snoutbeetle. It has been recorded as a minor pest of Coffee only in Natal. Apparently quite common in Sugarcane (and) ... seen to feed on various weeds.
It is also listed as a pest in Tea (Thea sinensis).
Oh, dear memory!
Thanks for that, Tony. I am again bookless tonight.
Beetledude, SANC
Memory?
Your memory is quite impressive. I am just intrigued how little it is mentioned in pests on plants! It only gets two paragraphs!
Indigenous species that are pests
Contrary to popular opinion, the great majority of the agricultural insect pest species in South Africa are of local origin, and not invasions from somewhere else. A most interesting topic is host shifting among organisms, whether it is an indigenous parasitic wasp moving over to parasitise a wood-boring weevil that had originated in North America; whether it is indigenous grass stem borers (Lepidoptera) moving over to become destructive pests of cereal crops; or whether it is these weevils in Tony's gardens.
The species of Ellimenistes are widely spread throughout the non-arid parts of southern Africa, and boy, are they catholic in their feeding preferences! Tony described this very nicely above. It seems that there is almost no plant, indigenous or not, that they would not feed on. But it is excellent to read Tony's notes (above) about the plants that they don't feed on.
This genus seems to be more or less restricted to southern Africa, with about 10 species (= guessing) that have been described to date. Recently, when trying to identify some troublesome Ellimenistes for a client, I dicovered that there are hordes of very similar, very nameless species. A revision is quite in order! And Ellimenistes laesicollis is the "default identification", hence the ID caution above.
CURCULIONIDAE: ENTIMINAE.
Beetledude, SANC