FILE: <ch-88.htm> GENERAL INDEX [Navigate
to MAIN MENU ]
|
PUNCTUREVINE, Tribulus terrestris L. -- Zygophyllaceae A cosmopolitan plant of European and North
African origin is a prostrate, annual herb that bears and abundance of small
yellow flowers and prickly spiny fruit.
The fruit separates at maturity into five, boney and one to
four-seeded segments, each of which is studded with two or four sharp and
rigid, divergent spines. The seeds
are through to survive burial in soils for ca. 20 years, and the spines
penetrate and lodge in automobile tires, shoes, human feed and the fur of
animals, which aids their dissemination (Johnson 1932, Goeden & Ricker
1973, Goeden & Andrés 1999). Puncturevine naturally ranges from the
Mediterranean and Africa to the drier parts of Asia (Andrés & Angelet
1963). It was accidentally introduced
into the midwestern United States with livestock imported from the
Mediterranean area. Puncturevine now
occurs broadly in the United States but is most common in the southwestern
states. It arrived in California
around 1900, apparently as a railroad ballast contaminant, and spread rapidly
along railroads and highways. As an
agricultural plant its spiny fruit interferes with hand harvesting, injury
livestock and contaminate seed, feed and wool (Johnson 1932). It also is a plant of disturbed residential
and industrial land, and like crabgrass, is a plant that many city dwellers
recognize. As an annual, nonwoody,
nonrangeland plant, puncturevine represents a departure from the traditional
perennial range and pasture plant pest targeted for biological control. Surveys were conducted in India, southern
France and Italy during 1957-1959 for natural enemies of puncturevine. The seed feeding weevil Microlarinus lareynii (Jacquelin deVal) and
the stem and crown mining weevil M.
lypriformis (Wollaston) were
selected as the most promising candidates for use as biological control
agents. Field and laboratory studies
conducted in France, Italy and California during 1959-1961 demonstrated that
the adults fed on a wide range of plant species, but reproduction succeeded
only on puncturevine, other species of Tribulus,
and a few herbaceous annual Zygophyllaceae native to the southwestern United
States (Kallstroemia sp.
Andrés & Angelet 1963). Although
minor concern was expressed over its potential detrimental effect on the
native plants, this conflict of interest was resolved by weighing the
potential benefits of biological control of puncturevine against these
potential losses. Recognizing the
need for action, both weevils were approved for release in compliance with
less complicated federal regulatory procedures then in use. Since their release, the weevils have been
recorded feeding on some nonhost plants, but they reproduce only on Tribulus or closely related Zygophyllaceae (Andrés 1978). The immature stages of both weevils were
described by Kirkland & Goeden (1977).
The biology of M. lareynii was described by
Andrés & Angelet (1963) and Kirkland & Goeden (1978a); that of M. lypriformis by Andrés & Angelet (1963) and Kirkland
& Goeden (1978b). The egg of M. lareynii is deposited in a pit that is chewed in the
pericarp of an immature fruit, occasionally in a floral bud or flower and
capped with an anal secretion, often stained dark with feces. The larva feeds on the seeds and surrounding
tissues, destroying seeds directly by mastication or indirectly by inducing
abortion. Pupation occurs in an open
cell in the fruit. The adult chews an
emergence hole between adjacent carpels.
The eggs hatch in 2-3 days; larval development lasts 13-16 days; the
pupal stadium lasts 4-5 days in southern California. The biology of M. lypriformis
is similar, only most oviposition occurs in the undersides of the central,
older parts of the prostrate, spreading, mat-like plants (i.e., root crowns,
primary branches, and stem bases).
The young larvae tunnel into the pith, where they largely confine
their feeding, eventually pupating in open cells in the larval mine. The adult emerge from circular holes
chewed mainly in the upper surfaces of stems, branches and crowns. Both weevil species are multivoltine and
produce a generation each month in the summer by reinfesting plants and
attacking new plants as dispersed adults.
Both species overwinter as adults in reproductive diapause among surface
debris, plant litter and on or around associate nonhost plant species. Weevil adults were initially imported from
Italy and released directly in the field in Arizona, California, Colorado,
Nevada, Utah and Washington in July and August, 1961 (Huffaker et al. 1961,
Andrés & Angelet 1963); establishment occurred in Arizona, California and
Nevada (Maddox 1976). The weevils
established readily in California and spread rapidly and widely, aided by
extensive transfers of field-collected adults (Goeden & Ricker
1967). Maddox (1976) reported the subsequent
spread and establishment of both weevils in Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma,
Texas and Utah, and of the stem weevil in Florida as well as the spread of
both weevils into Mexico. After the weevils became established in
southern California, Goeden & Ricker (1967, 1970) reported substantial
egg predation by native Heteroptera and larval and pupal parasitism by
indigenous chalcidoid Hymenoptera.
Goeden & Kirkland (1981) assessed this predation in irrigated and
nonirrigated field plants and determined that about half the seed weevil eggs
infesting puncturevine fruit were killed by egg predation that reduced fruit
infestation rates from 50 to 25%.
Maddox (1981) determined that seed germination in infested fruit was
drastically reduced. Kirkland &
Goeden (1978c) used the insecticide check method to assess the effects of
both weevils acting in concert on irrigated and nonirrigated plants in field
plots. Their results showed that
water stress was the principal cause of early season plant mortality, but weevil
attack caused a 60% reduction of flower production on surviving plants in
nonirrigated plots. In addition, only
half of these flowers on nonirrigated plants produced fruit late in the
growing season. Maddox (1981) also
used insecticidal check plots to demonstrate that the stem weevils had a
greater impact than the seed weevils on puncturevine plants per se, as
measured by stem growth rates, metered water stress and the biomass of whole
plants. Maddox (1981) and Huffaker et
al. (1983) reported that seed weevils, largely acting alone in experimental
field plots, increased flower production by puncturevine, which they
attributed to "survival strategy" of the weevil. Huffaker et al. (1983) reported that 15
years after introduction of the weevils, puncturevine coverage and seed
production declined in more than 80% of 1,200 field plots monitored in
California. They attributed this
decline to the actions of both species of weevils. The biological control of puncturevine in California generally
is considered a partial success or substantial success under field conditions
where weevil attacks intensify moisture stress on nonirrigated plants (Maddox
& Andrés 1979, Kirkland & Goeden 1978c, Julien 1982, Goeden &
Andrés 1999). Puncturevine weevils also have been used in
successful transfer projects, both species being transferred as field
collected adults in 1962 from California to Hawaii, where puncturevine and
the perennial Tribulus cistoides L. were brought under
complete biological control within a few years on all islands (Julien
1982). Stem weevils subsequently were
transferred to the island of St. Kitts in the West Indies from Hawaii in
1966, and seed weevils were transferred from southern California to St. Kitts
in 1969. The latter species failed to
establish, but the former species alone provided complete control of T. cistoides (Julien 1982). For additional detail on biological control
effort and biologies of hosts and natural enemies, please see the following
(Munz & Keck 1959, Kingsbury 1964, Angalet & Andrés 1965, Davis &
Krauss 1965, 1966, 1967; Davis 1966, Haselwood & Motter 1966, Ritcher
1966, Daniels & Wiese 1967). REFERENCES: [Additional references may be found at: MELVYL
Library ] Andrés, L. A. 1978. Biological control of puncturevine, Tribulus terrestris (Zytgophyllaceae): post introduction collection records of Microlarinus spp. (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), p.
132-36. In: T. E. Freeman
(ed.), Proceedings of the IV Intern. Symposium on Biological Control of
Weeds, 1976, Gainesville, Florida. Andrés, L. A. & G. W. Angelet. 1963. Notes on the
ecology and host specificity of Microlarinus
lareynii and M. lypriformis (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and the biological
control of puncture vine, Tribulus
terrestris. J. Econ. Ent. 56: 333-40. Angalet, G. W. & L. A. Andrés. 1965. Parasites of two
weevils, Microlarinus lareynii and M. lypriformis, that feed on the puncture vine, Tribulus terrestris L. J.
Econ. Ent. 58: 1167-68. Daniels, N. E. & A. F. Wiese. 1967. Survival and
spread of the puncture-vine seed weevil in Texas. Tex. Agric. Expt. Sta. Misc. Pub. 827. 2 p. Davis, C. J. 1966. Progress report: Biological control status of noxious weed pests in Hawaii--
1965-1966. Hawaii Dept. Agric.
Rept. 4 p. Davis, C. J. & N. L. H. Krauss. 1965. Recent
introductions for biological control in Hawaii-- X. Hawaii. Ent. Soc. Proc. 19:
87-90. Davis, C. J. & N. L. H. Krauss. 1966. Recent
introductions for biological control in Hawaii. Ent. Soc. Proc. 19: 201-07. Davis, C. J. & N. L. H. Krauss. 1967. Recent
introductions for biological control in Hawaii-- XI. Hawaii. Ent. Soc. Proc. 19: 375-80. Goeden, R. D. & L. A. Andrés. 1999. Biological control
of weeds in terrestrial and aquatic environments. In: Bellows, T. S. & T. W. Fisher (eds.), Handbook of Biological Control: Principles and Applications. Academic Press, San Diego, New York. 1046 p. Goeden, R. D. & R. L. Kirkland. 1981. Interactions of
field populations of indigenous egg predators, imported Microlarinus weevils, and puncturevine in southern
California, p. 515-27. In: E. S. Delfosse (ed.), Proceedings of the V International
Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds, 1980, Brisbane, Australia. Goeden, R. D. & D. W. Ricker. 1967. Geocoris pallens found to be predaceous on Microlarinus spp. introduced to California for the
biological control of puncturevine, Tribulus
terrestris. J. Econ. Ent. 60: 725-29. Goeden, R. D. & D. W. Ricker. 1970. Parasitization of
introduced puncturevine weevils by indigenous Chalcidoidea in southern
California. J. Econ. Ent. 63: 827-31. Goeden, R. D. & D. W. Ricker. 1973. A soil profile
analysis for puncturevine fruit and seed.
Weed Sci. 21: 504-07. Haselwood, E. L. & G. G. Motter. 1966. Handbook of
Hawaiian Weeds. Hawaii. Sugar
Planters Assoc. Expt. Sta. 479 p. Huffaker, C. B., D. Ricker & C. Kennett. 1961.
Biological control of puncture vine with imported weevils. Calif. Agric. 15: 11-12. Huffaker, C. B., J. Hamai & R. M. Nowierski. 1983.
Biological control of puncturevine, Tribulus terrestris
in California after twenty years of activity of introduced weevils. Entomophaga 28: 387-400. Johnson, E. 1932. The puncture vine in California. Univ. Calif. Col. Agric. Expt. Sta. Bull.
528. 42 p. Julien, M. H. (ed.).
1982. Biological control of
weeds: a world catalogue of agents
and their target weeds, 1st ed.
Commonw. Agric. Bur., Slough, U.K.
108 p. Kingsbury, J.
M. 1964. Poisonous Plants of the United States and Canada. Prentice-Hall, Inc., New Jersey. 626 p. Kirkland, R. L. & R. D. Goeden. 1977. Descriptions of
the immature stages of imported puncturevine weevils, Microlarinus lareynii
and M. lypriformis. Ann.
Ent. Soc. Amer. 70: 583-87. Kirkland, R. L. & R. D. Goeden. 1978a. Biology of Microlarinus lareynii (Col.: Curculionidae)
on puncturevine in southern California.
Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 70:
13-18. Kirkland, R. L. & R. D. Goeden. 1978b. Biology of Microlarinus lypriformis (Col.:
Curculionidae) on puncturevine in southern California. Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 70: 65-69. Kirkland, R. L. & R. D. Goeden. 1978c. An insecticidal-check
study of the biological control of puncturevine (Tribulus terrestris)
by imported weevils, Microlarinus
lareynii and M. lypriformis (Col.: Curculionidae). Environ. Ent. 7: 349-54. Maddox, D. M. 1976. History of weevils on puncturevine in and
near the United States. Weed Sci. 24:
414-16. Maddox, D. M. 1981. Seed and stem weevils of
puncturevine: a comparative study of
impact, interaction, and insect strategy, p. 447-67. In: E. S. Delfosse (ed.), Proceedings V
International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds, 1980, Brisbane,
Australia. Maddox, D. M. & L. A. Andrés. 1979. Status of
puncturevine weevils and their host plants in California. Calif. Agric. 33: 7-8. Munz, P. A. & D. D. Keck.
1959. A California Flora. Calif. Univ. Press, Berkeley, CA. 1681 p. Ritcher, P. O. 1966. Biological control of insects and weeds in
Oregon. Oreg. Agric. Expt. Sta. Tech.
Bull. 90. 39 p. |