We report observations on reproductive phenology, fecundity, and sporocarp morphology for a population of the semiaquatic fern Marsilea mollis B.L. Rob. & Fernald in southern Arizona and document the parasitic relationships of 2 insects collected with the plants. The recently described weevil Notiodes sporocarpicus O'Brien (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) utilizes the fern's sporocarp as a brood chamber, only the second documented instance of this form of parasitism in the United States. The wasp Lyrcus maculatus (Gahan) (Hymenoptera: Pteromalidae) is a parasitoid of the weevil in this system.
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1 September 2009
Marsilea mollis (Marsileaceae) Sporocarps and Associated Insect Parasitism in Southern Arizona
Kathryn Mauz,
John R. Reeder
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Western North American Naturalist
Vol. 69 • No. 3
September 2009
Vol. 69 • No. 3
September 2009
Curculionidae
Lyrcus maculatus
Marsilea mollis
Notiodes sporocarpicus
parasitism
Pteromalidae