EGGS DISTRIBUTION OF SITOPHILUS-GRANARIUS L (COL, CURCULIONIDAE) IN TRITICUM-AESTIVUM CARYOPSES

Having verified that only one adult emerges from one caryopsis infested by more eggs of S. granarius (and likely because the other larvae are victims of cannibalism), the influence of crowding, of the abundance of caryopses and of their mobility on the distribution of the eggs among the caryopses was examined. The female of S. granarius tends to lay more than one egg (from 2 to 10) inside the same caryopsis, but she leaves many others not infested. Each of the three experimental conditions influenced the distribution of the eggs. The insects' behaviour probably depended on the interaction of many environmental factors, worth to be researched.