Variation of Body Size in Rice Water Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Its Associations with Population Biology

ABSTRACT: Abstract Life history characteristics help us to determine the ability of invasive species to establish and thrive in an exotic environment. However, so far, there have been very few reports concerning geographic variation in the body size of invasive insects and the associations between body size variation and population biology. In this study, we surveyed the geographic variation in body size of an invasive agricultural pest, the rice water weevil Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in China. Its body size variation was found to follow Bergmann’s rule, a size cline related to latitude/altitude in which weevils tended to be larger in higher latitude/altitude localities. Moreover, using adults of different body size within populations, we also characterized the r

SUBMITTER: Huang Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5777492 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature