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OCCURRENCE OF PHYLLOTRETA STRIOLATA, THE STRIPED FLEA BEETLE, IN OPEN PRAIRIE, FOREST, AND PARKLAND OF SASKATCHEWAN (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE)1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

L. Burgess
Affiliation:
Research Station, Agriculture Canada, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 0X2

Abstract

In Saskatchewan the range of Phyllotreta striolata (F.), a pest of parkland rapeseed crops, includes the open prairie in the southwest and the boreal forest in the north. The population of P. striolata on the open prairie is small, with cruciferous weeds being the major host plants. Cruciferous crops grown on the open prairie will almost certainly attract some P. striolata. The population of P. striolata in the forest is substantial, and the range extends northward into arctic regions. Although adults of P. striolata feed upon cruciferous plants growing in the forest, these plants do not appear abundant enough to constitute an adequate food supply. In addition, the identity of the major host plants of the larvae in the forest is unknown. In laboratory experiments, adults of P. striolata were attracted to and attempted to feed upon seven species of forest mosses; however, attempts to maintain a laboratory colony of P. striolata on one of the more abundant mosses were unsuccessful. Forest inhabiting P. striolata attacked rape planted in forest clearings, and therefore probably would infest rape crops grown along the forest edge or in newly cleared areas.

Résumé

En Saskatchewan, l'aire de distribution de Phyllotreta striolata (F.), ravageur des cultures de colza des prairies-parcs, comprend la prairie ouverte du sud-ouest et la forêt boréale du nord. La population de P. striolata dans le premier habitat est plutôt réduite, les maivaises herbes crucifères composant les principales plantes hôtes. Les cruicifières cultivées dans la prairie ouverte attireront forcément un certain nombre de P. striolata. En revanche, la population du ravageur dans la forêt est substantielle et son aire s'étend au nord jusque dans les régions arctiques. Bien que les adultes de P. striolata se nourrissent de crucifères qui poussent dans la forêt, ces plantes ne semblent pas assez abondantes pour constituer une bonne source alimentaire. En outre, les principales plantes hôtes des larves dans la forêt ne sont pas encore identifiées. Dans des expériences en laboratoire, les adultes de P. striolata sont attirés par sept espèces de mousses forestières et cherchent à s'en nourrir, mais les tentatives faites pour en maintenir une colonie en laboratoire sur l'une des mousses les plus abondantes ont échoué. Les P. striolata inféodés à la forêt s'attaquent au colza cultivé dans les clairières et infesteraient probablement celui cultivé en lisière de la forêt ou dans les superficies fraîchement défrichées.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1982

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