Article ; Online: Redescription of a weevil Paramecops sinaitus (Coleoptera
European Journal of Entomology, Vol 104, Iss 3, Pp 505-
Curculionidae: Molytinae) from the Sinai and an ecological study of its interaction with the Sinai milkweed Asclepias sinaica (Gentianales: Asclepiadaceae)
2007 Volume 515
Abstract: We collected specimens of Paramecops sinaitus (Pic, 1930) (Curculionidae: Molytinae) from south Sinai in Egypt, which enabled us to make the first complete description of this species. We also include some taxonomic remarks on the genus. Paramecops ... ...
| Abstract | We collected specimens of Paramecops sinaitus (Pic, 1930) (Curculionidae: Molytinae) from south Sinai in Egypt, which enabled us to make the first complete description of this species. We also include some taxonomic remarks on the genus. Paramecops solenostemmatis (Peyerimhoff, 1930) is a synonym of Paramecops sinaitus. We propose the new combination Paramecops sogdianus (Nasreddinov, 1978), based on Perihylobius sogdianus Nasreddinov, 1978, which would make Perihylobius and Paramecops synonymous. Like other Paramecops species, P. sinaitus appears to share a close interaction with Asclepiads, in this case the Sinai milkweed Asclepias sinaica (Boiss.) Muschl., 1912 (Asclepiadaceae). We investigated the oviposition behaviour of female weevils to test whether it is linked to larval performance, as predicted by coevolutionary theory. We found that female oviposition preference was positively related to plant size and to the volume of the seed follicles in which the eggs were laid. The survival of eggs was negatively related to plant size, perhaps due to plant differences in the production of defensive cardenolides. Larval survival was not related to plant size but increased with follicle volume, probably as a result of competition for food. Paramecops is relatively sedentary and nocturnal in its behaviour. Night-time observations of behaviour showed that weevils were more active at lower temperatures. |
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| Keywords | curculionidae ; asclepias sinaica ; chemical defence ; coevolution ; herbivory ; new combination ; new synonymies ; paramecops sinaitus ; plant-insect interactions ; redescription ; secondary metabolites ; taxonomy ; Zoology ; QL1-991 |
| Subject code | 580 |
| Language | English |
| Publishing date | 2007-07-01T00:00:00Z |
| Publisher | Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Science |
| Document type | Article ; Online |
| Database | BASE - Bielefeld Academic Search Engine (life sciences selection) |
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