Biocontrol Science and Technology (2016) 26, 35-46
Guillermo Cabrera Walsh and Mariano Maestro (2016)
Impact of introduced native herbivores on a Pistia stratiotes infestation close to the Paraná Delta in Argentina
Biocontrol Science and Technology 26 (1), 35-46
Abstract: Pistia stratiotes L. (Araceae) is an important weed in many waterways worldwide. The South American weevil Neohydronomus affinis Hustache (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and the planthopper Lepidelphax pistiae Remes Lenicov (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) are specific herbivores of P. stratiotes. Both species, plus the oligophagous moth Samea multiplicalis Guenée (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), were released in a P. stratiotes-infested lake in the suburbs of Buenos Aires, Argentina, where previous sampling indicated that specific herbivores were absent. The weevil and the planthopper established and covered the whole lake in under two months. The moth may have also established but its numbers were very low and erratic. Plant cover, biomass per square metre, and individual plant size decreased markedly within a year after the release of the insects. Concomitantly, other floating macrophytes appeared in the lake. Insect abundance was related to mean monthly temperature and light hours, but not the other insect species. However, insect damage levels and the state of the plant population suggest that herbivory was the main factor in lowering the P. stratiotes populations. N. affinis and L. pistiae could be specific, damaging and compatible as biocontrol agents for P. stratiotes.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Guillermo Cabrera Walsh
Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
inundative/inoculative release
Pest and/or beneficial records:
| Beneficial | Pest/Disease/Weed | Crop/Product | Country | Quarant.
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pistia stratiotes (weed) | Argentina | |||
| Samea multiplicalis (weed bioagent) | Pistia stratiotes (weed) | Argentina | ||
| Neohydronomus affinis (weed bioagent) | Pistia stratiotes (weed) | Argentina | ||
| Lepidelphax pistiae (weed bioagent) | Pistia stratiotes (weed) | Argentina |
