Editing Alcea (section)

==Pests and diseases==
[[File:Hollyhock Weevil (2713629786).jpg|thumb|right|upright|alt=Rhopalapion longirostre|Hollyhock [[weevil]] (''Rhopalapion longirostre'')]]

''Alcea'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including ''[[Bucculatrix quadrigemina]]'' and ''[[Vanessa cardui]]'', the painted lady.

The [[podagrica fuscicornis|mallow flea beetle]] (''Podagrica fuscicornis'') is a pest that makes tiny holes in the leaves. [[Cutworm]]s, [[aphid]]s, and [[Miridae|capsid bugs]] use the plant as a food source in hotter and drier conditions.<ref>Brickell, C., Ed. ''The Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Garden Plants''. Dorling Kindersly, London. 1996. pg. 93. {{ISBN|0-7513-0436-0}}</ref> A number of [[weevil]]s use ''A. rosea'' as their host plant, including ''[[Rhopalapion longirostre]]'', ''[[Alocentron curvirostre]]'', and ''[[Aspidapion validum]]''.<ref name=weevil>Wilhelm, G., et al. (2011). [http://homepage.univie.ac.at/hans.leo.nemeschkal/papers/RhopSexdim.pdf Sexual dimorphism in head structures of the weevil ''Rhopalapion longirostre'' (Olivier 1807) (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea): a response to ecological demands of egg deposition.] ''Biological Journal of the Linnean Society'' 104(3) 642-60.</ref>

The plants are also susceptible to the pathogenic [[fungus]] ''[[Puccinia malvacearum]]'', the hollyhock rust.<ref>[http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=564 Hollyhock rust.] Royal Horticultural Society.</ref>