Ma. Ricca et al., EFFECTS OF SOIL-MOISTURE AND TEMPERATURE ON OVERWINTERING SURVIVAL OFCURCULIO LARVAE (COLEOPTERA, CURCULIONIDAE), The American midland naturalist, 136(1), 1996, pp. 203-206
Few studies to date have investigated factors, other than mast crop si
ze, that influence the dynamics of Curculio populations. We examined t
he effects of varying levels of soil moisture (0.35, 0.4 and 0.5 g wat
er/g soil) and temperature (8, 14 and 20 C) on overwintering survival
of Curculio larvae collected from Quercus michauxii acorns. Survival o
f larvae, analyzed using log-linear analysis, was adversely affected b
y soil moisture but not by soil temperature. Larvae that overwinter in
drier soil may have higher probabilities of successfully metamorphosi
ng.