AbstractField studies were carried out between 1974 and 1978 on the hispine Uroplata lantanae Buzzi & Winder which feeds on Lantana tiliaefolia plants under shade in temperate climate areas of Paraná State, southern Brazil. The life-cycle from egg to adult took 48–54 days between October and January with only one generation a year. Adults fed by rasping leaves and larvae mined leaves, occasionally destroying up to 24% on individual plants. Adults colonised tall plants preferentially and chose to oviposit on the higher branches, which suffered significantly less leaf abscission. Greater numbers of all stages of the hispine were found on lantana plants around which a plant-free zone was created compared with those growing amongst other understorey plants. Larvae were parasitised by a complex of braconid, eulophid, chalcid and torymid parasitoids, with greater parasitisation occurring at lower branch heights. Multiple-choice host-specificity tests and field observations showed that U. lantanae fed only on L. tiliaefolia and L. camara. The effectiveness of U. lantanae as a biological control agent of lantana in Australia is discussed.
