The alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici, a pest of European origin, has recently spread into mainland Ontario. A two-year study showed that dispersing adults incorporated into bales of alfalfa during harvest can survive therein for up to 46 days of storage in a mow. Furthermore, they can remain fertile for most of this period. This has important implications with respect to the shipment of hay from infested areas

Bereza, K

Harcourt, D. G

English

Valparaiso University

The Great Lakes Entomologist Volume 23 Number 1 - Spring 1990 Number 1 - Spring 1990 Article 3 April 1990 Survival and Longevity of Otiorhynchus Ligustici (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Alfalfa Hay Bales in Eastern Ontario D. G. Harcourt Agriculture Canada K Bereza Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle Part of the Entomology Commons Recommended Citation Harcourt, D. G. and Bereza, K 1990. "Survival and Longevity of Otiorhynchus Ligustici (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Alfalfa Hay Bales in Eastern Ontario," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 23 (1) Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol23/iss1/3 This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 1990 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 9 SURVIVAL AND LONGEVITY OF OTIORHYNCHUS LIGUSTICI (COLEOPTERA: CURCULIONIDAE) IN ALFALFA HAY BALES IN EASTERN ONTARIO D. G. Harcourt I and K. Bereza2 ABSTRACT The alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici, a pest of European origin, has recently spread into mainland Ontario. A two-year study showed that dispersing adults incorporated into bales of alfalfa during harvest can survive therein for up to 46 days of storage in a mow. Furthermore, they can remain fertile for most of this period. This has important implications with respect to the shipment of hay from infested areas. In 1986, the alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici (L.), was discovered in large numbers in eastern Ontario (Loan et al. 1986). This was the first mainland record in Canada, although it had been found two decades earlier on Wolfe Island, at the junction of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River (G.G. Gyrisco, pers. comm.). The new infestation is believed to be an extension of an historic infestation from Europe that is slowly spreading from northern New York. It is presently limited to alfalfa fields on 10 farms in the Prescott area (Harcourt and Guppy 1987). The life history of the snout beetle in Ontario has been outlined by Guppy and Harcourt (1989). The life cycle requires two years and there are even- and odd-year broods, designated as Brood A and Brood B. Both broods are present in Ontario (Harcourt and Binns 1989). The flightless adults emerge from the soil in early spring and migrate in search of suitable host plants by walking from one field to another. They disperse during a 4-6 week period but their seasonal movement is limited to a few hundred yards (Neilson and Edmonds 1969). On the other hand, they may be transported for longer distances on farm machinery or in shipments of soil and plant material. Because all of the adults are parthenogenetic females, a single beetle accidently introduced into a non-infested area is capable of starting an infestation. The new discovery has prompted questions regarding the need for a quarantine on the shipment of alfalfa hay from the infested area to other locations in Canada and the eastern United States. However, a decision on the imposition of such a quaran­tine is difficult to make in the absence of data on the incidence and survival of the adults in bales of hay. The present study was undertaken to obtain such data. lPlant Research Center, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, KIA OC6, Canada 2Plant Industry Branch, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ancaster, L9G 3K9, Canada 1Harcourt and Bereza: Survival and Longevity of Otiorhynchus Ligustici (ColeoptePublished by ValpoScholar, 199010 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 23, No.1 MATERIALS AND METHODS 'Seeding' of the bales The study was carried out in 1987 and 1988 at Robinson Farms, Maynard, Ontario, 3 km west of Prescott. To "seed" the bales, i.e. incorporate the beetles into the bales, they were fed by hand into the compression chamber of a tractor-pulled conventional baler (Hesston Model #4500) as it picked up windrowed alfalfa during the harvesting process. The bales were rectangular (35 x 40 x 90 cm), twine-tied, and weighed 18 to 22 kg. The 'seeded' bales were tagged and immediately loaded on a hay wagon, hauled to a well ventilated barn and stored in the mow along with a supply of 'unseeded' bales to serve as checks. In 1988, the 'seeded' bales were loosely wrapped in plastic window screening (16 x 16 mesh) to contain any beetles that attempted to crawl out. 'Seeding'rates were 10 adults per bale in 1987, and 30 per bale in 1988; 21 and 22 bales were 'seeded' in the two years, on June 19 and June 24, respectively. To facilitate detection of the beetles, their elytra were painted dark red, using automotive touch-up paint (General Motors of Canada, BI Red #81). The painting was done a day or two prior to 'seeding'. Each year, 20 marked specimens were placed in a quarantine laboratory and kept under observation for the duration of the study. Recovery from the bales In 1987, the 'seeded' bales were removed from the mow and examined for beetle content on six occasions: 3 days postharvest, and weekly thereafter for 5 weeks. Three to six bales were sampled on each date. These were opened on the surface of a canvas sheet, apportioned between three or four observers, and carefully hand sorted to recover dead and living specimens. Those living were returned to the laboratory and fed on fresh alfalfa sprigs. A total of 110 'unseeded' bales was examined 9 to 18 days postharvest. In 1988, the 'seeded' bales were sampled on nine occasions: immediately after harvest, 4 days postharvest, and weekly thereafter for 7 weeks. On each occasion, two or three bales were examined and living specimens were again returned to the laboratory for rearing. Four check bales were examined 11 days postharvest. Longevity and fecundity of the adults was recorded in the laboratory at 25 °C. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Painting of the beetles did not appear to affect longevity and oviposition. Marked specimens reared in the laboratory lived for an average of 47 days and laid a total of 261 eggs per beetle (range 93-360), compared to 50 days and 310 eggs per beetle (range 40-1180) in a laboratory colony maintained by J. C. Guppy (personal communication). Roughly half of the 'seeded' adults, 480/0 and 47% respectively, were recovered from the bales in 1987 and 1988 (Table 1). An additional 3% were captured in the screening used to wrap the bales in 1988. The remainder were lost in the seeding procedure or not detected during the examination of the bales. Those recovered were widely distributed throughout the bale. There were year-to-year differences in beetle longevity (Table 1). In 1987, living adults were recovered from the bales for up to 10 days from 'seeding'. However, none of them deposited eggs. By contrast, in 1988, living adults were recovered from the bales for up to 46 days from 'seeding'. Moreover, those recovered during June and July laid an average of 89 eggs. Those recovered after 31 days of baling did not deposit eggs. The higher mortality rate in 1987 may be partially attributed to a variable degree of molding near the center of the bales. In n attempt to comply with the schedules 2The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 23, No. 1 [1990], Art. 3https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol23/iss1/31990 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 11 Table 1. - Incidence and longevity of O. liqustici adults in baled hay, Prescott, Ont. 1987 (10 per bale) Sample date Days from Bales No. adults recovered baling examined alive dead 22 June 3 3 3 13 29 June 10 3 I 19 9 July 20 6 0 20 IS July 2S 3 0 16 21 July 30 3 0 19 28 July 36 3 0 lO Totals 21 4 97 1988 (30 per bale) 24 June 0 2 31 6 28 June 4 2 18 4 S July 11 3 28 21 12 July 18 3 14 30 19 July 2S 3 21 30 2S July 1 3 5 26 3 Aug 40 2 0 29 9 Aug 46 2 2 7 18 Aug 55 2 0 19 Totals 22 119 192 of cooperating personnel, we infested and harvested the 21 'seeded' bales a day or two before the alfalfa was properly cured. The remainder of the crop in 1987, including the 'unseeded' bales, and the entire crop in 1988, was fully cured prior to baling. In the two years, a combined total of 6 unmarked beetles was found in the 'seeded' and 'unseeded' bales. Although the number was low, this showed that the harvesting process can result in uptake of the pest and its incorporation into bales of hay. The present study demonstrates that O. ligustici adults can infest, survive and retain their fertility in bales of alfalfa. Based on our data, it is apparent that such bales should not be shipped from infested farms for a period of at least 6 weeks following harvest. A waiting period of two months would be preferable. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors wish to thank G. Quesnel of the Plant Industry Branch, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Kemptville, C. Slight of t e Plant Health Divi­sion, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, and L. Cass, J. Walker and V. Margetts of the Plant Research Center, for their assistance in this study. This article is contribution No. 1224 of the Plant Research Center. 3Harcourt and Bereza: Survival and Longevity of Otiorhynchus Ligustici (ColeoptePublished by ValpoScholar, 199012 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 1 LITERATURE CITED Guppy, 1. C. and D. G. Harcourt. 1989. The alfalfa snout beetle, a new pest of alfalfa in Ontario. Canadex Leaflet 121.620. Harcourt, D. G. and 1. C. Guppy. 1987. Canadian Agricultural Insect Pest Review 65:23. Harcourt, D. G. and M. R. Binns. 1989. Sampling technique for larvae of the alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Great Lakes Entomol. 22:121-126. Loan, C. C., F. Meloche and C. M. Maund. 1986. A new discovery of the alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in eastern Ontario. Proc. Ent. Soc. Ont. 117:87-90. Neilson, D. G. and C. M. Edmonds. 1969. New York's own alfalfa snout beetle. New York's food and life sciences. 2:13-15. 4The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 23, No. 1 [1990], Art. 3https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol23/iss1/3

Survival and Longevity of \u3ci\u3eOtiorhynchus Ligustici\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Alfalfa Hay Bales in Eastern Ontario

ValpoScholar

The Great Lakes Entomologist 
Volume 23 
Number 1 - Spring 1990 Number 1 - Spring 1990 Article 3 
April 1990 
Survival and Longevity of Otiorhynchus Ligustici (Coleoptera: 
Curculionidae) in Alfalfa Hay Bales in Eastern Ontario 
D. G. Harcourt 
Agriculture Canada 
K Bereza 
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food 
Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle 
 Part of the Entomology Commons 
Recommended Citation 
Harcourt, D. G. and Bereza, K 1990. "Survival and Longevity of Otiorhynchus Ligustici (Coleoptera: 
Curculionidae) in Alfalfa Hay Bales in Eastern Ontario," The Great Lakes Entomologist, vol 23 (1) 
Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol23/iss1/3 
This Peer-Review Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Biology at ValpoScholar. 
It has been accepted for inclusion in The Great Lakes Entomologist by an authorized administrator of ValpoScholar. 
For more information, please contact a ValpoScholar staff member at scholar@valpo.edu. 
1990 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 9 
SURVIVAL AND LONGEVITY OF 

OTIORHYNCHUS LIGUSTICI (COLEOPTERA: 

CURCULIONIDAE) IN ALFALFA HAY BALES 

IN EASTERN ONTARIO 

D. G. Harcourt I and K. Bereza2 
ABSTRACT 
The alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici, a pest of European origin, has 
recently spread into mainland Ontario. A two-year study showed that dispersing 
adults incorporated into bales of alfalfa during harvest can survive therein for up to 
46 
days 
of storage in a mow. Furthermore, they can remain fertile for most of this 
period. This has important implications with respect to the shipment of hay from 
infested areas. 
In 1986, the alfalfa snout beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici (L.), was discovered in 
large numbers in eastern Ontario (Loan et al. 1986). This was the first mainland 
record in Canada, although it had been found two decades earlier on Wolfe Island, 
at the junction of Lake Ontario and the St. Lawrence River (G.G. Gyrisco, pers. 
comm.). The new infestation is believed to be an extension of an historic infestation 
from Europe that is slowly spreading from northern New York. It is presently 
limited to alfalfa fields on 10 farms in the Prescott area (Harcourt and Guppy 
1987). 
The life history of the snout beetle in Ontario has been outlined by Guppy and 
Harcourt (1989). The life cycle requires two years and there are even- and odd-year 
broods, designated as Brood A and Brood B. Both broods are present in Ontario 
(Harcourt and Binns 1989). The flightless adults emerge from the soil in early spring 
and migrate in search of suitable host plants by walking from one field to another. 
They disperse during a 4-6 week period but their seasonal movement is limited to a 
few 
hundred yards (Neilson and Edmonds 1969). 
On the other hand, they may be 
transported for longer distances on farm machinery or in shipments of soil and plant 
material. Because all of the adults are parthenogenetic females, a single beetle 
accidently introduced into a non-infested area is capable of starting an infestation. 
The new discovery has prompted questions regarding the need for a quarantine on 
the shipment of alfalfa hay from the infested area to other locations in Canada and 
the eastern United States. However, a decision on the imposition of such a quaran­
tine is difficult to make in the absence of data on the incidence and survival of the 
adults in bales of hay. The present study was undertaken to obtain such data. 
lPlant Research Center, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, KIA OC6, Canada 
2Plant Industry Branch, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ancaster, L9G 3K9, 
Canada 
1
Harcourt and Bereza: Survival and Longevity of Otiorhynchus Ligustici (Coleopte
Published by ValpoScholar, 1990
10 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 23, No.1 
MATERIALS AND METHODS 
'Seeding' of the bales 
The study was carried out in 1987 and 1988 at Robinson Farms, Maynard, 
Ontario, 3 km west of Prescott. To "seed" the bales, i.e. incorporate the beetles into 
the bales, they were fed by hand into the compression chamber of a tractor-pulled 
conventional baler (Hesston Model #4500) as it picked up windrowed alfalfa during 
the harvesting process. The bales were rectangular (35 x 40 x 90 cm), twine-tied, 
and weighed 18 to 22 kg. The 'seeded' bales were tagged and immediately loaded on 
a hay wagon, hauled to a well ventilated barn and stored in the mow along with a 
supply of 'unseeded' bales to serve as checks. In 1988, the 'seeded' bales were loosely 
wrapped in plastic window screening (16 x 16 mesh) to contain any beetles that 
attempted to crawl out. 
'Seeding'rates were 10 adults per bale in 1987, and 30 per bale in 1988; 21 and 22 
bales were 'seeded' in the two years, on June 19 and June 24, respectively. 
To facilitate detection of the beetles, their elytra were painted dark red, using 
automotive touch-up paint (General Motors of Canada, BI Red #81). The painting 
was 
done a day or two prior to 'seeding'. Each year, 
20 marked specimens were 
placed in a quarantine laboratory and kept under observation for the duration of the 
study. 
Recovery from the bales 
In 
1987, the 'seeded' bales were removed from the mow and examined for beetle 
content 
on six occasions: 3 days postharvest, and weekly thereafter for 5 weeks. 
Three to six bales were sampled on each date. These were opened on the surface of a 
canvas sheet, apportioned between three or four observers, and carefully hand 
sorted to recover dead and living specimens. Those living were returned to the 
laboratory and fed on fresh alfalfa sprigs. A total of 110 'unseeded' bales was 
examined 9 to 18 days postharvest. 
In 1988, the 'seeded' bales were sampled on nine occasions: immediately after 
harvest, 4 days postharvest, and weekly thereafter for 7 weeks. On each occasion, 
two or three bales were examined and living specimens were again returned to the 
laboratory for rearing. Four check bales were examined 11 days postharvest. 
Longevity and fecundity of the adults was recorded in the laboratory at 25 °C. 
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 
Painting of the beetles did not appear to affect longevity and oviposition. Marked 
specimens reared in the laboratory lived for an average of 47 days and laid a total of 
261 eggs 
per beetle (range 93-360), compared to 
50 days and 310 eggs per beetle 
(range 40-1180) in a laboratory colony maintained by J. C. Guppy (personal 
communication). 
Roughly half of the 'seeded' adults, 480/0 and 47% respectively, were recovered 
from the bales in 1987 and 1988 (Table 1). An additional 3% were captured in the 
screening used to wrap the bales in 1988. The remainder were lost in the seeding 
procedure or not detected during the examination of the bales. Those recovered were 
widely distributed throughout the bale. 
There were year-to-year differences in beetle longevity (Table 1). In 1987, living 
adults were recovered from the bales for up to 10 days from 'seeding'. However, 
none of them deposited eggs. By contrast, in 1988, living adults were recovered from 
the bales for up to 46 days from 'seeding'. Moreover, those recovered during June 
and July laid an average of 89 eggs. Those recovered after 31 days of baling did not 
deposit eggs. 
The higher mortality rate in 1987 may be partially attributed to a variable degree 
of 
molding near the center 
of the bales. In n attempt to comply with the schedules 
2
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 23, No. 1 [1990], Art. 3
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol23/iss1/3
1990 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST 11 
Table 1. - Incidence and longevity of O. liqustici adults in baled hay, Prescott, Ont. 
1987 (10 per bale) 
Sample date Days from Bales No. 
adults 
recovered 
baling examined alive dead 
22 
June 
3 3 3 13 
29 
June 
10 3 I 19 
9 July 20 6 0 20 
IS July 2S 
3 0 
16 
21 July 30 
3 0 
19 
28 July 36 3 0 lO 
Totals 21 4 97 
1988 (30 per bale) 
24 June 0 2 31 6 
28 June 4 2 18 4 
S July 11 3 28 21 
12 July 18 3 14 30 
19 July 2S 
3 
21 30 
2S July 1 3 5 26 
3 Aug 40 2 0 29 
9 Aug 46 2 2 7 
18 Aug 55 
2 0 
19 
Totals 22 119 192 
of cooperating personnel, we infested and harvested the 21 'seeded' bales a day or 
two before the alfalfa was properly cured. The remainder of the crop in 1987, 
including the 'unseeded' bales, and the entire crop in 1988, was fully cured prior to 
baling. 
In the two years, a combined total of 6 unmarked beetles was found in the 'seeded' 
and 'unseeded' bales. Although the number was low, this showed that the harvesting 
process can result in uptake of the pest and its incorporation into bales of hay. 
The present study demonstrates that O. ligustici adults can infest, survive and 
retain their fertility in bales of alfalfa. Based on our data, it is apparent that such 
bales should not be shipped from infested farms for a period of at least 6 weeks 
following harvest. A waiting period of two months would be preferable. 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
The authors wish to thank G. Quesnel of the Plant Industry Branch, Ontario 
Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Kemptville, C. Slight of t e Plant Health Divi­
sion, Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, and L. Cass, J. Walker and V. Margetts of the 
Plant Research Center, for their assistance in this study. 
This article is contribution No. 1224 of the Plant Research Center. 
3
Harcourt and Bereza: Survival and Longevity of Otiorhynchus Ligustici (Coleopte
Published by ValpoScholar, 1990
12 THE GREAT LAKES ENTOMOLOGIST Vol. 23, No. 1 
LITERATURE CITED 
Guppy, 1. C. and D. G. Harcourt. 1989. The alfalfa snout beetle, a new pest of alfalfa in 
Ontario. Canadex Leaflet 121.620. 
Harcourt, D. G. and 1. C. Guppy. 1987. Canadian Agricultural Insect Pest Review 65:23. 
Harcourt, D. G. and M. R. Binns. 1989. Sampling technique for larvae of the alfalfa snout 
beetle, Otiorhynchus ligustici (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). Great Lakes Entomol. 
22:121-126. 
Loan, C. C., F. Meloche and C. M. Maund. 1986. A new discovery of the alfalfa snout beetle, 
Otiorhynchus ligustici (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in eastern Ontario. Proc. Ent. Soc. Ont. 
117:87-90. 
Neilson, D. G. and C. M. Edmonds. 1969. New York's own alfalfa snout beetle. New York's 
food and life sciences. 2:13-15. 
4
The Great Lakes Entomologist, Vol. 23, No. 1 [1990], Art. 3
https://scholar.valpo.edu/tgle/vol23/iss1/3

https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1687&amp;context=tgle

Survival and Longevity of \u3ci\u3eOtiorhynchus Ligustici\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) in Alfalfa Hay Bales in Eastern Ontario

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