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Herbivores on Dioscorea bulbifera Although there were no herbivores actively feeding on the plant during the trip, there were previous signs of leaf herbivory and holes in the bulbils (indicating past feeding). |
| Herbarium specimens of D. bulbifera from the Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) | ||||||
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| Collected from a fence in Kepong, near FRIM (west Peninsular Malaysia). | Collected from a hill forest in Selangor (west Peninsular Malaysia). | Fruiting D. bulbifera collected from Sabah, on the island of Borneo. | Flowering D. bulbifera collected from Sabah, on the island of Borneo. | |||
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Herbivores present on D. bulbifera In December 2004, while conducting a preliminary survey of plants at FRIM, I discovered what appeared to be sawfly larvae consuming the leaves of a Dioscorea species (left figure). However, during the expedition in June 2005, no insects were observed on the leaves, stems or bulbils of the plants although signs of damage on the leaves and bulbils indicated previous presence of these herbivores. |
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| Sawfly larvae consuming Dioscorea leaf | Partially eaten D. bulbifera leaves. |
Signs of herbivore presence on D. bulbifera. |
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| Completely consumed stem section. | Holes indicating presence of previous herbivores on D. bulbifera. | Scrape marks on the underside of D. bulbifera leaves. The damage is most likely from beetles (Family: Chrysomelidae). | ||||
