Life cycle of Apion ulicis (Coleoptera: Apionidae), and gorse seed attack around Auckland, New Zealand

Abstract

Around Auckland, New Zealand, the gorse seed weevil (Apion ulicis Förster) has retained 1 generation per year, as in the United Kingdom, its country of origin. Gorse (Ulex europaeus) bushes produce 2 crops of seeds annually, but only seeds of the second crop (July—December) are attacked by the weevil. During this time more seeds are found per pod than during the first crop (February—May). In this study weevil attack effectively reduced the viable seeds from around 3 per pod to 1 per 4 pods. However, only a relatively small proportion of seed pods were attacked by A. ulicis.

Keywords:

• Coleoptera
• Apionidae
• Apion ulicis
• life cycle
• Ulex europaeus
• seed attack
• Auckland