Otiorhynchus desertus Rosenhauer, 1847 (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): Confirmation of Establishment in North America, and Other New Provincial Records of Adventive Weevils from New Brunswick, Canada

Abstract

Detecting the presence of adventive species is an essential part of protecting native biodiversity and is especially crucial when those species threaten local industries such as agriculture and forestry. The weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) represent one of the most economically important insect groups and the damage caused by some alien species in North America account for extreme losses in crop production annually (Fisher and Bruck 2004; Radcliffe and Flanders 1998). Within the Nearctic region, eastern Canada is particularly well-known for its adventive beetle fauna and has historically served as the first “port of entry” for many introduced species which are now established widely on the continent (Klimaszewski et al. 2010). Here, based on collections in New Brunswick, Ontario, and Newfoundland, Canada, we report the first definitive records of Otiorhynchus desertus Rosenhauer, 1847 from North America, as well as evidence of establishment of the species on the continent. We also provide the first records of Otiorhynchus rugosostriatus (Goeze, 1777) and Notaris scirpi (Fabricius, 1793) from New Brunswick, Canada.