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Cat's claw creeper leaf‐mining jewel beetle H ylaeogena jureceki O benberger ( C oleoptera: B uprestidae), a host‐specific biological control agent for D olichandra unguis‐cati ( B ignoniaceae) in A ustralia

2012; Wiley; Volume: 52; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1111/aen.12014

1440-6055

K. Dhileepan, Dianne B. J. Taylor, C. J. Lockett, Mariano Treviño,

Insect Pest Control Strategies

Abstract Cat's claw creeper, D olichandra unguis‐cati ( L .) L . G . L ohman (syn: M acfadyena unguis‐cati ( L .) A . H . G entry) ( B ignoniaceae), a major environmental weed in Q ueensland and N ew S outh W ales, is a W eed of N ational S ignificance and an approved target for biological control. A leaf‐mining jewel beetle, H ylaeogena jureceki O benberger ( C oleoptera: B uprestidae), first collected in 2002 from D . unguis‐cati in B razil and A rgentina, was imported from S outh A frica into a quarantine facility in B risbane in 2009 for host‐specificity testing. H . jureceki adults chew holes in leaves and lay eggs on leaf margins and the emerging larvae mine within the leaves of D . unguis‐cati . The generation time (egg to adult) of H . jureceki under quarantine conditions was 55.4 ± 0.2 days. Host‐specificity trials conducted in A ustralia on 38 plant species from 11 families supplement and support S outh A frican studies which indicated that H . jureceki is highly host‐specific and does not pose a risk to any non‐target plant species in A ustralia. In no‐choice tests, adults survived significantly longer (>32 weeks) on D . unguis‐cati than on non‐target test plant species (<3 weeks). Oviposition occurred on D . unguis‐cati and one non‐target test plant species, C itharexylum spinosum ( V erbenaceae), but no larval development occurred on the latter species. In choice tests involving D . unguis‐cati , C . spinosum and A vicennia marina ( A vicenniaceae), feeding and oviposition were evident only on D . unguis‐cati . The insect was approved for field release in A ustralia in M ay 2012.