Notes on the Biology of puncture vine seed weevil, Microlarinus lareynii (Col., Curculionidae) as a biocontrol agent of puncture vine, Tribulus terrestris (Zygophyllaceae) in Urmia region

Puncture vine, Tribulus terrestris L. (Zygophyllaceae) is a summer annual, aggressive and cosmopolitan weed species. The biology of Microlarinus lareynii, as a seed-eating biocontrol agent of puncture vine, was studied in Urmia region. The results revealed that, the weevil completes three generation per year and overwinters as an adult in plant litters. Adults emerge from the overwintering sites in mid-June. After emerging, they start to feed on the undersides of stems and mate from time to time. Then females chew holes into the burr, and lay eggs singly in the each hole. The eggs were covered by females for protection. The duration of incubation period lasted 3.4±0.8 d. Upon hatching the young larvae bore into the fruit where she feeds on the seeds. The larval and pupal development takes 17.8±2.6 and 6.2±1.5 d, respectively. Therefore, the time from oviposition to adult emergence takes 29.0±2.1d in natural conditions. The larvae of M. lareynii were parasitized by three species of Bracon Fabricius in Urmia region. Including, B. intercessor Nees, B. trucidator Marshal and B. murgabensis Tobias. The association of M. lareynii with B. trucidator and B. murgabensis are new. Furthermore, this is the first parasitoids report for M. lareynii from Iran.