Predation on Scheelea Palm Seeds by Bruchid Beetles: Seed Density and Distance from the Parent Palm

Abstract

In a test of the following hypotheses, the first was rejected and the second accepted. Rejected: (1) T he farther a freshly cleaned [pile of] palm nut[s] (endocarp) is placed from a fruiting parent, the lower will be the probability of the nut[s'] being found by a bruchid. Accepted: (2) The larger the pile of freshly cleaned nuts at a site where there is no parent the more likely that it will be found by bruchids. The study was carried out in a palm forest in Guanacaste Province, Costa Rica, from March until July 1971. In addition to testing the above hypotheses, the study generated natural history data on bruchid oviposition behavior, oviposition intensity, survivorship of the larvae, and developmental rate.