Seed-Feeding Beetles (Bruchinae, Curculionidae, Brentidae) from Legumes (Dalea ornata, astragalus filipes) and Other Forbs Needed for Restoring Rangelands of the Intermountain West

Seed-feeding beetles of the genera Acanthoscelides, Apion, and occasionally Tychius were commonly found occurring in seeds from wild populations of Astragalus filipes and Dalea ornata across rangelands of the United States Intermountain West, resulting in many new state, county, and host records. These 2 legumes, as well as other perennial herbaceous species, are being commercially farmed to produce seed supplies to rehabilitate sagebrush-steppe and adjoining juniper woodlands following wildfires. Most of the seeds examined in this study hosted one or more seed-feeding beetles; beetles that pupate and overwinter in the seeds pose the risk of being transported to storage warehouses and distributed to new seedings, unless the beetles are first detected and then controlled.