Pest density – plant damage relationships are essential guides for decision-making in integrated pest management. In this article, we established pest density – leaf damage relationships for the beech leaf-mining weevil, Orchestes fagi L. (formerly Rhynchaenus fagi, Coleoptera: Curculionidae), in its invasive range of Nova Scotia, Canada. Outbreaks of O. fagi cause tree-wide leaf necrosis in American beech (Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), which can eventually result in tree mortality. In 2014 and 2016, we collected weekly samples in stands with American beech and assessed leaves for densities during different life stages (eggs, larvae, and pupae), population proxy measures (adult feeding damage, egg slits, and larval galleries), and percent necrosis. In general, feeding damage and leaf necrosis plateaued soon after the end of budburst, but before the larval mine expanded. This strongly suggested that leaf necrosis may be linked to damage caused by adults or by mine initiation rather than that caused by larval mine expansion and gallery development. The density of O. fagi per leaf for life stages and population proxies all significantly explained ∼42%–81% of the variation in end-of-season percent leaf necrosis. Results from this study provide a variety of relationships that could be used in both short- and long-term monitoring efforts for O. fagi.
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