How Low Can They Go? Annual Bluegrass Weevil Oviposition and Development in Golf Course Putting Greens.

The annual bluegrass weevil (ABW), Listronotus maculicollis (Coleoptera:
Curculionidae) is a native pest of low-cut turf throughout the eastern United
States, and southeastern Canada.  Larval feeding damage is most severe in
short-mown (< 0.125 cm) turf.  Damage is common on golf course tees, fairways,
and collars, but is rarely observed on golf course putting greens (< 0.5 cm).
We sought to determine if ABW are capable of surviving, ovipositing, and
developing to damaging stages in a range of green's heights-of-cut (HOC).  A
reel mower mounted on a greenhouse bench was used to assess the ability of
adults surviving the act of mowing, and to determine a low-end threshold for
adult survival.  These studies were coupled with observations of adult behavior
in the lab and field using time lapse photography to determine periods when
adults were present on top of the turf canopy and therefore could be removed by
mowers.  Finally, male and female weevils were seeded into Poa annua research
plots and caged cores to determine the likelihood of oviposition, development,
and damage expression at different green's HOC (0.254, 0.318, and 0.381 cm).
Our findings and their implications on ABW cultural and chemical management
will be discussed.