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Abstract
A stem-boring weevil obtained from infested clusters of mistletoe was subsequently reared and identified as Myrmex sp. To our knowledge its discovery in Mississippi is the easternmost record of mistletoe-feeding Myrmex, previously recorded only from the West and Southwest. Based on current studies, the weevil overwinters as larvae in tunnels within mistletoe stems. Pupation occurs during spring and lasts 23 to 31 days. Adults emerge from mid-May through early June. There appears to be one generation per year. Larvae tunnel in mistletoe stems 4 to 12 mm in diameter and produce galleries 12 to 40 mm long and 1.5 to 3 mm in diameter. Damage to mistletoe shoots by the weevil suggests that the insect may be useful as a biological control for mistletoe.
Citation
Solomon, J. D.; Newsome, L.; Filer, T. H. 1984. Discovery and Observations of a Stem-Boring Weevil (Myrmex sp.) a Potentially Useful Biocontrol of Mistletoe. Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences 29:7-11.
