Lesser grain borers, Rhyzopertha dominica, select rough rice kernels with cracked hulls for reproduction.

Tests were conducted to determine whether the lesser grain borer, Rhyzopertha dominica (F.) (Coleoptera: Bostrychidae), selects rough rice (Oryza sativa L. (Poales: Poaceae)) kernels with cracked hulls for reproduction when these kernels are mixed with intact kernels. Differing amounts of kernels with cracked hulls (0, 5, 10, and 20%) of the varieties Francis and Wells were mixed with intact kernels, and the number of adult progeny emerging from intact kernels and from kernels with cracked hulls was determined. The Wells variety had been previously classified as tolerant to R. dominica, while the Francis variety was classified as moderately susceptible. Few F 1 progeny were produced in Wells regardless of the percentage of kernels with cracked hulls, few of the kernels with cracked hulls had emergence holes, and little firass was produced from feeding damage. At 10 and 20% kernels with cracked hulls, the progeny production, number of emergence holes in kernels with cracked hulls, and the amount of firass was greater in Francis than in Wells. The proportion of progeny emerging from kernels with cracked hulls increased as the proportion of kernels with cracked hulls increased. The results indicate that R. dominica select kernels with cracked hulls for reproduction.