M. callizona, which was first encountered in Florida in 1989 at a Ft. Lauderdale (Broward County) bromeliad nursery, is thought to have entered the state in a shipment of bromeliads imported from Veracruz, Mexico. The nursery was treated, but within two months the weevil was found to be established in northern Broward County and southern Palm Beach County. By 1991 the weevil was present in four counties in southern Florida, and by 1999 it was found in 12 additional counties. As a direct result of attack by M. callizona, the Florida Endangered Plant Advisory Council has added two species of bromeliads (Tillandsia utriculata (L.) and Tillandsia fasciculata Swartz) to the list of endangered species under the 1998 Florida Administrative Code. Additionally, the weevil has entered the Everglades region, home of Florida's rarest populations of bromeliads.
endangered bromeliad Tillandsia utriculata
rare and endangered bromeliad Guzmania monostachia
adult M. callizona (Chevrolat)
M. callizona adults are easily distinguished from both M. mosieri, which is 6 to 9 mm (0.24 to 0.35 in.) long and red and black with two black spots on the upper, red portion of the wing covers, and from M. hemipterus, which is 9 to 14 mm (0.35 to 0.55 in.) long and may be either red or orange, and black, with variation in color pattern.
M. callizona eggs are elongate, averaging approximately 2 mm (0.08 in.) in length and 1 mm (0.04 in.) in width. They are white when first oviposited, later turning yellow and finally light brown.
Larvae are cream-colored with a dark head. Mean head capsule widths for laboratory reared first- through fifth-instar larvae were determined to be 0.92 mm (0.04 in.), 1.21 mm (0.05 in.), 1.69 mm (0.07 in.), 2.10 mm (0.08 in.), and 2.73 mm (0.11 in.), respectively. While the first three instars have discrete size classes, field-collected fourth- and fifth-instar larvae cannot be distinguished. Pupae are generally found within a fibrous cocoon made of plant material.
Between 1973 and 1987, USDA-APHIS plant inspectors intercepted 14 weevils determined to be M. callizona, being imported primarily on Tillandsia spp. All specimens of M. callizona found in imported shipments have originated in Mexico. An additional 122 weevils identified only as Metamasius were intercepted during the same time period on bromeliads known to be attacked by M. callizona.
The weevil is also reported from Guatemala (Alta Verapaz: San Juan). A survey of the Alta Verapaz region in June-August 2000 failed to yield M. callizona, although weevils of related species, principally Metamasius quadrilineatus Champion, were found in bromeliads. Despite the early record of M. callizona from Panama (Chiriquí: Potrerillos), the species was not detected during a survey in 1994. Furthermore, while specimens of many other species of Metamasius are present in the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, there are no M. callizona specimens in the collection, leading to the suggestion that the weevil's natural range does not extend throughout Central America.
The first specimen of M. callizona in Florida was found on a nursery-grown Tillandsia ionantha Planchon, a plant native to Mexico and Central America on which adults will feed but not lay eggs. In natural areas, the weevil primarily attacks T. utriculata, T. fasciculata, and Tillandsia paucifolia Baker. The weevil is most damaging to T. utriculata plants, killing them directly. While T. fasciculata appears to be more resistant, damage to flowering plants can be highly destructive to their populations. The weevil has also been observed attacking Tillandsia balbisiana Schultes (a species that had been listed already in Florida as threatened) and Tillandsia flexuosa Swartz (already listed as endangered), Tillandsia variabilis Schlechtendal (threatened), Tillandsia simulata Small (a species precinctive [=endemic] to Florida), as well as Catopsis and Guzmania spp. The state's native bromeliads that are likely to be attacked by M. callizona if it reaches their more isolated habitats include Tillandsia pruinosa Swartz (endangered), Guzmania monostachia (L.) (endangered), Catopsis berteroniana (Schultes)(endangered), Catopsis floribunda (Brongniart) (endangered), and Catopsis nutans (Swartz) (endangered). The weevil, which appears to be restricted to plants large enough to supply an adequate amount of stem tissue for larval development, has been found most often in large species of Tillandsia. It will most likely not attack Florida's other native bromeliads (Tillandsia bartramii Elliott, Tillandsia setacea Swartz, Tillandsia recurvata (L.), and Tillandsia usneoides (L.)), which probably do not provide enough plant material for completion of larval development due to their small size.
Florida Native Bromeliads Illustrated WWW site
Since its first appearance in Broward County, the weevil has spread through much of southern Florida by both natural dispersal and by movement of infested plants. As of December 2000, M. callizona was reported in the following 21 counties in Florida, given with date of first report: Broward (November 1989), Palm Beach (November 1989), Lee (October 1990), Miami-Dade (May 1991), Charlotte (August 1994), St. Lucie (November 1995), Glades (March 1996), Collier (March 1996), Sarasota (August 1996), Manatee (September 1996), Martin (May 1997), Hendry (August 1997), Brevard (November 1998), Indian River (December 1998), Desoto (March 1999), Highlands (March 1999), Polk (December 2000), Okeechobee (April 2002), Hillsborough (June 2003), Osceola (October 2003), Pinellas (July 2006), and Orange (November 2006).
In addition to attacking bromeliads in parks and other public lands, the weevil has infested private bromeliad collections and nurseries. Under greenhouse conditions, bromeliads mined and killed by M. callizona have included Aechmea cvs., Ananas comosus (L.) (pineapple), Canistrum lindenii (Regel) Mez, Cryptanthus cvs., Dyckia sp., Fernseea bocainensis Pereira & Moutinho, Guzmania cvs., Hechtia sp., Hohenbergia sp., Neoregelia cvs., Neoregelia compacta (Mez), Nidularium cv., Orthophytum gurkenii Hutch., Pitcairnia angustifolia Solander, Quesnelia "testudo", T. fasciculata, T. paucifolia, T. utriculata, and Vriesia cvs.
All life stages of the weevil may be present in the same plant. Adult females, which primarily feed on leaves but have been seen to feed on flowers, cut slits in host plant leaves close to their feeding sites, into which they lay eggs individually. Newly emerged larvae begin to consume leaf tissue as they move down to the base of the stem. They tunnel into the growing stem tissue, producing large holes in the base that may cause the plant to dislodge from its support structure on the tree. Larval damage is generally confined to the base of the plant but can also reach up the flower stalk. Several weevils may successfully develop on the same host plant, provided there is sufficient plant tissue. However, larger larvae will attack smaller ones upon encountering them. The weevil usually pupates in the center of the plant's stem, within a cocoon it constructs from shredded plant material. When reared in planted pineapple tops, the weevil sometimes pupates in the soil near the base of the plant.
Damage is often accompanied by the production of a light brown, gelatinous material, which may be the plant's defensive reaction. This gel can be seen covering entrance holes to the weevil mines. Other symptoms of weevil damage include adult feeding marks on leaves, browning of leaves, and decomposition of the base of the central leaves, which can easily be pulled out when larval mining is substantial.
damage on leaves of Tillandsia utriculata
In ornamental bromeliad nurseries, the mining of M. callizona larvae directly kills some species. Extent of damage to natural bromeliad populations in Florida varies. For example, heavy infestations of large, flowering plants have caused severe damage to populations of T. utriculata, which reproduces primarily by seed. T. fasciculata plants are able to produce offsets, which aids their populations to some extent in escaping decimation by the weevil. However, the absence of any natural enemies of the weevil in Florida has resulted in much greater destruction to bromeliad populations than that occurring in any part of the weevil's natural range.
Insect Management Guide for Houseplant Arthropod Pest Management
Insect Management Guide to Landscape Plants
In natural areas, where the pest is threatening native populations of bromeliads, chemical control is not feasible, in part because the epiphytic growth habit of the host plants makes them inaccessible from the ground. More importantly, many of the populations affected by the pest are found in state and county parks, where use of chemical pesticides is not acceptable because of possible effects on non-target organisms.
Biological control offers the most likely success in management of the weevil. One potential biological control agent was discovered and studied at the Escuela Agrícola Panamericana in Zamorano, Honduras. This parasitoid tachinid fly, Lixadmontia franki, was found attacking the closely related weevil species M. quadrilineatus in Honduran cloud forests, primarily in species of Tillandsia. The female fly larviposits at the base of leaves, near the entrance to the tunnel made by weevil larvae, and the fly larvae enter the tunnel to seek out the host. Fly larvae attack the larval stage of the weevil, and while parasitized weevil larvae may construct a pupation chamber, they die before pupating. Percent parasitism of weevils in field-collected bromeliads in Honduras has ranged from 5 to 67% and seems to increase during the summer rainy season to reach a maximum in October-November.
Lixadmontia franki flies brought into Florida and maintained in a quarantine facility were found to parasitize M. callizona in bromeliad plants. The fly's natural host in Central America is Metamasius quadrilineatus, and it also will parasitize Metamasius mosieri, both of these being bromeliad-killing weevils. It would not attack Metamasius hemipterus. A strong fly cololony was established in the quarantine facility, and Federal and State release permits were issued in 2007. Releases began at the end of June 2007, and are planned to be continued through 2008 in some Federal Preserves and State and county parks with concurrent evaluation
The Florida Council of Bromeliad Societies (FCBS) has initiated a project to collect seed of native bromeliads threatened by M. callizona. Plants grown from those seeds will eventually be replaced in their natural setting if weevil populations are successfully reduced. For more information on the seed collection project and biological control efforts, see the "Save Florida's Native Bromeliads" Project WWW site.
At least 20 other species of weevils are known to attack bromeliads in Central and South America. Several related species of weevils have been found in shipments of bromeliads from neotropical countries, including Metamasius flavopictus (Champion), Metamasius sellatus Champion, and M. quadrilineatus. Therefore, in addition to managing populations of M. callizona already present in the state, it is necessary to prevent the accidental importation of additional weevil pests. There are two important preventive tactics. Dipping imported plants in insecticides labeled for beetles both before leaving the country of export and after arriving in Florida reduces the risk, although the effect of chemicals on eggs is unknown. However, the most effective preventive tactic is to import only seeds of neotropical bromeliads.
Authors: Barbra Larson and J. Howard Frank, University of Florida
Photographs: H. Nadel, J.H. Frank, J.L. Castner, Robin M. Giblin-Davis, P.M. Choate, B. Larson, R. Cave, University of Florida ; J. Lotz, Division of Plant Industry; J. Salas, FONAIAP
Project Coordinator: Thomas R. Fasulo, University of Florida
Publication Number: EENY-161
Publication Date: October 2000. Latest revision: December 2007.
Copyright 2000-2007 University of Florida
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Department of Entomology and Nematology
Division of Plant Industry
Electronic Data Information Source
M. mosieri adult
M. hemipterus adult 
egg
larva
cocoon
pupa
larvae in stem
damaged stem
damage on pineapple
epiphytic habit of bromeliads
dorsal view of L. franki
lateral view of L. franki
adult M. flavopictus
adult M. sellatus
adult M. quadrilineatus