Date of Award:

5-1-1966

Document Type:

Thesis

Degree Name:

Master of Science (MS)

Department:

Biology

Department name when degree awarded

Entomology

Committee Chair(s)

D. W. Davis

Committee

D. W. Davis

Committee

B. A. Haws

Committee

J. R. Simmons

Committee

A. T. Tu

Abstract

The alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), is an insect of European origin which by some unknown means was introduced into Utah (Titus 1910). It is the most destructive pest of alfalfa in the United States although locally others may be more serious. The female inserts her eggs into the alfalfa stems during the spring months. The larvae feed on the developing leaf buds and the leaves, often completely stripping the plants. The weevil destroys from seven to eight percent of the alfalfa in Utah each year. It costs alfalfa growers in the United States several millions of dollars in annual losses.

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