Biocontrol Science and Technology (2017) 27, 781-795

J.A. Goolsby, A.T. Vacek, C. Salinas, A. Racelis, P.J. Moran and A.A. Kirk (2017)
Host range of the European leaf sheath mining midge, Lasioptera donacis Coutin (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a biological control of giant reed, Arundo donax L.
Biocontrol Science and Technology 27 (6), 781-795
Abstract: The fundamental host range of the arundo leafminer, Lasioptera donacis a candidate agent for the invasive weed, Arundo donax was evaluated. L. donacis collects and inserts spores of a saprophytic fungus, Arthrinium arundinis, during oviposition. Larvae feed and develop in the decomposing leaf sheath channel tissue. Thirty-six closely related and economic grass species along with several key habitat associates were evaluated in no-choice tests. L. donacis and its associated saprophyte completed development only on A. donax, in concurrence with published reports from its native range in Mediterranean Europe. The arundo leafminer feeding leads to premature defoliation, constituting a different mode of attack on the host plant as compared to two previously released insects, the arundo wasp and arundo scale, which feed on shoot tips and rhizomes, respectively. Defoliation of A. donax is expected to increase light penetration into stands of A. donax which increases visibility for law enforcement, reduces the survival of cattle fever ticks, and enhance recovery of the native riparian vegetation along the Rio Grande and other habitats where this weed is invasive.
(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): Patrick J. Moran, John A. Goolsby, Alan A. Kirk, Alexis E. Racelis

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
non-target effects/fate in environm.

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Arundo donax (weed)
Lasioptera donacis (weed bioagent)	Arundo donax (weed)