Selective Pod Abortion by \u3ci\u3eBaptista Leucantha\u3c/i\u3e (Fabaceae) as Affected by a Curculionid Seed Predator, \u3ci\u3eApion Rostrum\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera)

The effect of a seed predator, Apion rostrum (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), on selective pod abortion from Baptisia leucantha (Fabaceae) was investigated in a restored tallgrass prairie plot. Weevil densities in and undamaged seed contents of attached and detached pods were compared over four occasions during the summer of 1993. Detached pods had similar to lower counts of weevils/pod and fewer seeds/pod than attached pods. Weevil density in pods appears only important in promoting pod abortIon through affects on seed number/pod as pods having fewer seeds are selectively aborted