SETTLING AND FEEDING RESPONSES OF PEA WEEVIL (COLEOPTERA, BRUCHIDAE) TO FLOWERS OF SELECTED PEA LINES

This study characterized the settling and feeding responses of female pea weevils, Bruchus pisorum (L.), to flowers of pea lines varying in their susceptibility to pea weevil oviposition and, in so doing, sough t to examine the potential of using weevil responses to flowers to scr een pea germplasm for antixenosis resistance. In dual-choice laborator y tests, weevils were less frequently observed settling and feeding on flowers of plant introduction lines (PI 196027, PI 263026) with pod a ntixenosis to ovipositing weevils than on flowers of 2 cultivars ('Ala ska', 'Garfield') susceptible to oviposition. Weevils did not discrimi nate when exposed to 2 flowers from susceptible lines or 2 flowers fro m resistant lines. These results suggest it may be possible to use a f lower assay to screen pea germplasm for antixenosis resistance to pea weevil. This study also demonstrates the application of Markov chain m odels for the analysis of data in which repeated categorical responses of test insects are observed.