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USGS · 1008076

Effects of soil moisture and temperature on overwintering survival of Curculio larvae (Coleoptera : Curculionidae)

Mark A. Ricca·Floyd W. Weckerly·Raymond D. Semlitsch
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Abstract

Few studies to date have investigated factors, other than mast crop size, that influence the dynamics of Curculio populations.W e examined the effects of varying levels of soil moisture (0.35, 0.4 and 0.5 g water/g soil) and temperature (8, 14 and 20 C) on over wintering survival of Curculio larvae collected from Quercus michauxii acorns. Survival of larvae, analyzed using log-linear analysis, was adversely affected by soil moisture but not by soil temperature. Larvae that overwinter in drier soil may have higher probabilities of successfully metamorphosing.

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Mark A. Ricca, Floyd W. Weckerly, Raymond D. Semlitsch. 1996. Effects of soil moisture and temperature on overwintering survival of Curculio larvae (Coleoptera : Curculionidae). https://doi.org/10.2307/2426646

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