We are also interested in sound production in sunflower weevils since there is acoustic communication among weevils of the genus Ceutorhynchus in rapeseed. Under favorable ecological conditions they are able to drastically reduce yield or even destroy the crop. The primary method used for control of all pest species which cause damage in the germination or seedling stage is chemical seed treatment. The 1995 hectareage of sunflower in Romania was 680,000 ha. China Sunflower is produced mainly in Inner Mongolia and the regions of northern, and northeastern China.
Insects are generally only of secondary importance as pests of sunflower.
Because of this and a lack of funding, little research has been conducted in sunflower entomology. The research that has been conducted found that the main pests are the European sunflower moth, Homoeosoma nebulella , darkling beetles, Opatrum subaratum and Gonocephalum reticulatum , and the cutworms, Agrotis ypsilon , A. segetum , Dichocrocis punctiferalis , and Maladera orientalis . The most damaging pest is the European sunflower moth. The others have rarely caused economic damage. The European sunflower moth occurs mainly in northeastern China, Inner Mongolia, and the northern part of Xinjiang.