A study of the large New Zealand weevil, Lyperobius huttoni Pascoe, 1876. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Molytinae)

Abstract

Studies were made of the ecology and distribution of Lyperobius huttoni on the south Wellington coast. Total population of an isolated colony was determined by marking and recapture of imagines over a period of slightly more than a year. The close association and dependence of L. huttoni on its host plant was investigated in relation to the semiapterous condition and survival. Competition and mortality factors of imago and larva were investigated. The life history was determined and found to extend over a minimum of three years. A detailed study was made of the external and internal morphology of the imago, while the larva, pupa and egg are described for the first time. Larval growth was found to cease in either the third or fourth instar at which time the weight and head capsule width had great variation. Rafting and recent glaciation are discussed in two hypotheses to explain the occurrence of L. huttoni on the south Wellington coast.