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PUNCTURE VINE Tribulus terrestris L. --
Zygophyllaceae (Contacts) ----- CLICK on Photo to enlarge &
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Puncture
vine 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.
Puncher vine 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, Puncher vine 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 Puncher vine. 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 Puncher vine, 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 Puncher vine 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 Puncher vine 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 Puncher vine 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 puncture vine, which they attributed to
"survival strategy" of the weevil.
Huffaker et al. (1983)
reported that 15 years after introduction of the weevils, Puncher vine
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 Puncher vine 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). Puncher
vine weevils also have been used in successful transfer projects, both
species being transferred as field collected adults in 1962 from California
to Hawaii, where Puncher vine 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 Puncher vine, 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 Puncture
Vine 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 Puncher vine, Tribulus
terrestris. J. Econ. Ent. 60: 725-29. Goeden, R. D.
& D. W. Ricker. 1970.
Parasitization of introduced Puncture Vine 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 Puncture Vine 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 Puncher vine, 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 Puncher vine 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 Puncher vine in southern California. Ann. Ent. Soc. Amer. 70: 13-18. Kirkland, R.
L. & R. D. Goeden. 1978b.
Biology of Microlarinus
lypriformis (Col.:
Curculionidae) on Puncher vine 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 Puncher vine
(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
Puncher vine in and near the United States.
Weed Sci. 24: 414-16. Maddox, D. M.
1981. Seed and stem weevils of
Puncher vine: 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 Puncher vine 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. |
