Re: [Aroid-l] Weevils

From: George Yao <geoyao at gmail.com> on 2011.05.28 at 03:38:55 Ted, Duck loves duckweeds and some fishes also. It is eaten in Thailand, but I think that is a Wolffia. George Yao Metro-Manila Philippines On 05/25/11, at 2:05 AM, Theodore Held wrote: Jason, and others, I have seen aphids infecting Lemna minor, but never weevils. I wonder about the nutrient content of duckweeds. Perhaps there are vitamins or soluble sugars in Lemna tissue. If weevils and aphids like them it could mean that harvesting these abundant plants could provide food for herbivores. It would be sort of like a solar power gathering device. Do others have any ideas? Ted Held. On Mon, May 23, 2011 at 9:48 PM, Jason Hernandez <jason.hernandez74@yahoo.com> wrote: Yesterday I was exploring a pond in which 100% of the surface was covered with Lemna sp. (I rarely bother to identify Lemnoidea to species).  At the lower end, near the dam, there was also Wolffia sp.  These two aroids formed such a solid layer that insects could treat it as dry land -- I actually watched a Pompillid wasp drag a paralyzed spider across the Lemna carpet. Looking closer, I saw that many of the Lemna fronds had circular or oval holes eaten in them.  I also noticed some tiny weevils -- each one smaller than a Lemna frond -- walking about, and I presume these were the perpetrators of the herbivory.  Has anyone studied these Lemna-eating weevils?  This was in the Inner Coastal Plain of South Carolina, if that helps. Jason Hernandez Naturalist-at-Large _______________________________________________ Aroid-L mailing list Aroid-L@www.gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l _______________________________________________ Aroid-L mailing list Aroid-L@www.gizmoworks.com http://www.gizmoworks.com/mailman/listinfo/aroid-l --Apple-Mail-7--318262072-- --===============4934249997687412058==

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