Expansion of native junipers is altering landscapes in the western U.S., prompting extensive management efforts to counter this spread and the negative effects on impacted ecosystems. Our studies investigating sources of seed mortality in both western (Juniperus occidentalis) and Utah juniper (Juniperus osteosperma) have revealed a number of seed-attacking arthropods capable of destroying a large percentage of the seed crop of an infested tree. One of the most commonly encountered insects at collection sites in northeastern California and northwestern Nevada are fruit-boring cosmet moths (Cosmopterigidae) in the genus Periploca. DNA analysis of insect adults and immatures both reared and dissected from juniper berries was carried out to definitively associate Periploca adults with their immature stages and screen for parasitoid DNA to reveal parasitoid-host relationships. Sequence data for Periploca adults and larvae has revealed the presence of four genetically distinct varieties of these moths attacking juniper berries. Three of these four varieties have been identified as P. atrata, commonly referred to as the juniper cone moth, P. juniperi, and P. serrulata. Many details regarding the habits of several of these species of Periploca encountered in western and Utah juniper were not known when these moths were initially described. Berry dissections, rearing efforts, and DNA sequence data have linked numerous parasitoids to juniper berry-infesting Periploca. These findings help to develop a more refined understanding of the arthropod community influencing juniper seed production, which can provide potentially valuable tools for the ongoing management of juniper expansion.
Oral presentation and poster titles, abstracts, and authors from the Society for Range Management (SRM) Annual Meetings and Tradeshows, from 2013 forward.