Bill's Botanical Forays

Today I spotted several patches of Mile-a-Minute (Persicaria perfoliata) which has sustained some apparent severe insect damage in the “Savanna” restoration area. I understand that weevils have been released on the refuge. I wonder if this is not damage by weevils. There are weevils which are natural enemies to the Mile-a-Minute in Asia where it is native, but using it as a biological control in the USA is more or less experimental.

The good thing about using weevils as a biological control of Mile-a-Minute is that they are not known to attack our native Persicaria species. I am not sure of the weevil’s species name, but will try to find out. I believe it could be Rhinocominus latipes Korotyaev.