Category: NOLI
Minimum Life Cycle: One year.
Distribution: Europe, North Africa, Asia, and the United States where vetch grows. Not injurious to stored grain. Vetch bruchid is black and cowpea weevil is bronze or rusty brown on the back.
Biology:
Eggs - Attached to seed pod of host vetch plant.
Larvae - Feed inside and hollow out inside of vetch seeds.
Adult - Overwinter in vetch fields. Do not reinfest stored products.
Vetch Bruchid (Bruchus brachialus). The vetch bruchid is a bruchid seedweevil that attacks the seeds of several species of vetch plants. The weevil is common in Kentucky and the Carolinas where it can infest 90 percent of hairy vetch seeds, although little foliage damage occurs. The adults overwinter in the host fields or in nearby areas where vetch is used for cover crop. After harvest, wheat can be planted. The vetch bruchid can be found in wheat harvested from these fields. The insect has only one generation per year, cannot survive in storage, and is not a pest of wheat or stored products (Figure 24).
(Slide and top caption courtesy of USDA.)