抄録
A wood borer, Apriona japonica, causes significant damage to young Zelkova serrata trees. Previous studies in the life cycle of some other pests suggest that weeds around the base of the host tree might have some effect on oviposition behavior of A. japonica. Here I investigated the effect of removal of weeds on A. japonica oviposition on Z. serrata during the summer of 1996. Weed removal significantly depressed the number of oviposition marks. In a plot in which weeds had been removed, the height distribution of oviposition marks significantly differed from that in a control plot, in which most oviposition marks were found below the weed height. These results suggest that A. japonica adults prefer to oviposit on host branches and stems that are covered with weeds and that removing weeds deters A. japonica from ovipositing on exposed host tree parts.
