Project Number: 5325-22000-025-07
Project Type: Reimbursable

Start Date: Jun 01, 2010
End Date: Sep 30, 2012

Objective:
Test host plant specificity of Larinus filiformis in quarantine laboratory and field experiments in order to submit a petition to USDA-APHIS requesting permission to release it as a biological control agent of yellow starthistle.

Approach:
We will conduct choice and no-choice oviposition experiments on the flower head weevil Larinus filiformis in our quarantine laboratory and conduct a field host specificity evaluation of L. filiformis in its native range in Turkey. If it is sufficiently host-specific, we will submit a petition to USDA-APHIS to obtain a permit to release the weevil.