Interactions between a New Species of Acanthoscelides and a Species of Verbenaceae, a New Host Family for Bruchidae (Coleoptera)

The new species Acanthoscelides siemensi, which feeds in the seeds of Duranta dombeyana (Verbenaceae) is described from Ecuador. Data gathered on insect-plant interactions indicate that, under natural conditions, gravid females insert eggs into crevices or directly into the immature, fleshy fruits. The oviposition scars probably heal as the fruits mature. The bruchids are heterodynamic in the laboratory and probably have the same behavior in mature fruits under natural conditions. A. siemensi probably has speciated in this new and unusual host because there are few protective mechanisms in the seeds or fruits of the host (40% of the seeds are destroyed), and there is an apparent lack of intense parasitism when in this host (enemy-free space). Mature fruits usually contain viable seeds.