Understanding the incidence of Anthonomus rubi, the strawberry blossom weevil, through the phenological time scale of their host plants

Monday, November 14, 2022

12:18 PM – 12:30 PM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 118

Presenting Author(s)

Warren Hung Leuk Wong

Graduate Student
The University of British Columbia
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

Co-Author(s)

JS

Jade Sherwood

Graduate Student
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
CC

Clarissa A. Capko

Student
University of the Fraser Valley
Langley, British Columbia, Canada
RW

Ross Weiss

Research Assistant
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
JC

Juli Carrillo

Assistant Professor
The University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Michelle T. Franklin

Entomologist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Agassiz, British Columbia, Canada

The strawberry blossom weevil, Anthonomus rubi, is an invasive polyphagous insect reported in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada that is of increasing concern for its potential impact on cultivated and native plants from the Rosaceae family. In its native range of Europe, the weevil has caused significant yield losses in strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa), raspberries (Rubus idaeus), and roses due to its ability to damage developing flowers by laying eggs into buds and severing the stem below. In addition, wild host plants could act as potential reservoirs for A. rubi that could move into cultivated crops. Investigating the timing of arrival on host plants and understanding when A. rubi is most abundant are key components to monitoring and mitigating their distribution in invaded regions. Degree-day models based on host plants such as Himalayan blackberries, Rubus armeniacus, and F. x ananassa were used to standardize phenological timelines across multiple sites in the Fraser Valley. This included the consideration of leafing, budding, flowering, and fruiting stages that were recorded on a weekly basis during the summer of 2021-2022. The incidence of A. rubi and abundance was overlayed onto its associate host developmental timeline to examine its correspondence or synchrony. Furthermore, as plant ontological stages can overlap, used indices based on host phenological proportions as an indicator of A. rubi population levels. The knowledge derived from this study can help build a foundation for the monitoring and control of A. rubi and may set a precedence for other plant-insect interactions.