[NatureNS] Viburnum Leaf Beetle

From: Christopher Majka <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2012 18:32:39 -0300
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Hi David,

On 30-Oct-12, at 6:15 PM, David Patriquin wrote:

> Thanks Chris Majka for the expert info. Do you have any comments on  
> the damage it has caused to witherod in areas where it occurs in N.S.?

Well, this is how we concluded our paper:

"Thus far, the impact of P. viburni in this region has not been noted  
to be significant, although occasional significant defoliation of  
shrubs has been reported (G. Selig pers. comm.). Weston and Desurmont  
(2002) wrote that, "Viburnum leaf beetle has the potential to become a  
major landscape pest because of its ability to kill susceptible  
viburnums if allowed to defoliate shrubs for several years in  
succession." Young (2004) wrote that, "Heavy infestations ... could  
defoliate shrubs, cause dieback, and eventually kill plants. Costs to  
homeowners, parks, arboretums, municipalities, and nurseries to manage  
heavy infestations ... and to replace killed plants could be high.  
Quarantines imposed ... would represent an economic burden to the many  
growers who export nursery stock ...." Given such concerns, ongoing  
monitoring of populations of P. viburni in the region would not be  
imprudent."

Gary Selig showed me photos of Viburnum plants in Bridgewater that had  
been significantly defoliated (year after year) by P. viburni. In  
other areas where I have found the beetle, for example in Halifax and  
Salt Springs, the damage has been much less severe. I've certainly  
never seen extensive defoliation such as has been found in areas in  
New England where the beetle is found.

Also, the distribution of the Viburnum leaf beetle in the Maritimes  
has been (at least until this point) spotty and localized. In many  
areas where I've looked at Viburnum there has been no sign of the  
beetle at all.

Cheers!

Chris

> Quoting Christopher Majka <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca>:
>
>> Hi David,
>>
>> On 30-Oct-12, at 3:25 PM, David Patriquin wrote:
>>
>>> Speaking of pests, Gary Saunders of McPhail Woods in PEI gave a   
>>> wonderful presentation to the NS Wild Flora Society last week on    
>>> "Restoring the Acadian Forest" in which he mentioned that an   
>>> invasive pest is aggressively chewing down witherod (wild raisin)  
>>> in  PEI, something I think we should be on the lookout for in  
>>> NS.    I  believe it is the Viburnum Leaf Beetle, http://www.gov.pe.ca/af/agweb/index.php3?number=74367&lang=f
>>> It has been sighted in Nova Scotia on domestic Vibrunums (2005),  
>>> and  possibly as early as 1924.
>>> http://www.hort.cornell.edu/vlb/csphoto.html
>>> http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=18705014
>>> http://www.entsoc.org/PDF/Pubs/Periodicals/AE/AE-2007/Summer/  
>>> Weston.pdf
>>
>> Laurent LeSage and I wrote a paper on Pyrrhalta viburni (the  
>> Viburnum  Leaf Beetle) in the Maritime Provinces back in 2007:
>>
>> Majka, C.G., and LeSage, L. 2007. Introduced leaf beetles of the   
>> Maritime Provinces, 3: the Viburnum leaf beetle Pyrrhalta viburni   
>> (Paykull) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Proceedings of the   
>> Entomological Society of Washington 109(2): 454-462.
>>
>> A PDF version of the paper is available at:
>>
>> 	http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/PDF/Pyrrhalta_viburni.pdf
>>
>> We were the ones that reported the earliest North American records  
>> of  the species from 1924 collected in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia.
>>
>> We posited two possible pathways of introduction:
>>
>> 1. In relation to the early habitations in the area dating from  
>> 1605  (and, indeed, in preliminary data from the area, the  
>> proportion of  introduced beetles in the area of Annapolis Royal  
>> appears to be twice  as high as the provincial average); and
>>
>> 2. In association with the Annapolis Royal Nurseries, the largest  
>> and  most comprehensive horticultural nursery in eastern Canada  
>> established  in 1885. By checking historical catalogues were able  
>> to ascertain that  in 1927 the Nurseries were selling three exotic  
>> Palearctic species of  Viburnum (V. opulus L., V. tomentosum  
>> Shasta, and V. plicatum Thunb.).
>>
>> There is much more detail and information in the paper itself. In  
>> any  event, the Viburnum Leaf Beetle is now widely established in  
>> the  Maritime Provinces including large areas of the mainland of  
>> Nova  Scotia. The earliest records from both Prince Edward Island  
>> and New  Brunswick are from 1995.
>>
>> All the best,
>>
>> Chris
>>
>>
>> Christopher Majka  <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca> | Halifax, Nova  
>> Scotia,  Canada
>>
>> * Research Associate: Nova Scotia Museum | http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mnh/research-asfr.htm
>> * Review Editor: The Coleopterists Bulletin | http://www.coleopsoc.org/
>> * Subject Editor: ZooKeys | http://pensoftonline.net/zookeys/index.php/journal/index
>> * Review Editor: Zootaxa | http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/taxa/Coleoptera.html
>> * Associate Editor: Journal of the Acadian Entomological Society | http://www.acadianes.org/journal.html
>> * Editor: Atlantic Canada Coleoptera | http://www.chebucto.ns.ca/Environment/NHR/PDF/index.html
>> * Editor: Bugguide, Coleoptera http://bugguide.net
>>
>> Whenever I hear of the capture of rare beetles, I feel like an old  
>> war- horse at the sound of a trumpet. - Charles Darwin
>>
>>
>
>
>
> David Patriquin
> 6165 Murray Place
> Halifax, N.S.
> Canada B3H 1R9
> e-mail: patriqui@dal.ca
> Phone: 902-4235716
>
> Professor of Biology (retired)
> Dalhousie University http://www.dal.ca
>
>