INTENSITY OF PREDATION ON PITHECELLOBIUM SAMAN (LEGUMINOSAE) SEEDS BY MEROBRUCHUS COLUMBINUS)' AND STATOR LlMBATUS (BRUCHIDAE) IN COSTA RICAN DECIDUOUS FOREST

Abstract

The rain tree, or "genizaro" ("cenizaro") (Pithecellobium saman (Jacq.) Benth. =Samanea saman (.Jacq.) Merrill) is common throughout the lowlands of Central America and much of South America, and has b"cn introduced throughout the lowland tropics. This mimosaceous legume is indigenous tothe Pacific coastal lowland deciduous and riparian forests of Gucinacaste Province, Costa Rica, where I have been studying its natural history since 1963. In this paper I describe the intensity of seed predation by two species of bruchid beet les in the seed crop" of 81 large ad ul t trees growing in 6 difTerent habitats. I intend this data to augment the slowly growing body of information on the pattern and intensit y of seed predation in Costa Rican tropical forests (.Janzen 1969, 1970a. 1971a, 1971b, 1971c, 1972, 1974, 197)a, 1975b, 1975c, 1976a, 1977a, 1977b, 1977c ; Wilson and Janzen 1972 ; Hatheway and Baker 1970) and thereby to be of usc in understanding the potential impact of seed predation on tropical forest structure.