The ecology of Lymnaea tomentosa (Pfeiffer 1855) in South Australia.

1965 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 461 ◽  
Author(s):  
JJ Lynch
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Water Temperature ◽  
Relative Density ◽  
Intermediate Host ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Fasciola Hepatica ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Practical Importance ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Control Agent

The distribution of Lymnaea tomentosa, the intermediate host of Fasciola hepatica Linnaeus, in Australia is described and studies of its ecology in two separate areas represented by (1) streams, associated springs and swamps, and (2) the unique habitats along the margins of the Murray lakes, are reported. The relative density of snail populations in both of these areas was recorded over 4 yr and the fluctuations in population were shown to be related to factors controlling the presence of water in the habitat, water temperature, and the occurrence of a native predatory fly (Dichaetophora biroi Kertesz). Although the fly larvae can wipe out snail populations, the particular circumstances existing in South Australia suggest that this native species is unlikely to be a useful biological control agent. However, the practical importance of flies as predators on snails in irrigation areas should not be discarded.

scholarly journals Limited host range in the idiobiont parasitoid Phymasticus coffea, a prospective biological control agent of the coffee pest Hypothenemus hampei in Hawaii

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fazila Yousuf ◽  
Peter A. Follett ◽  
Conrad P. D. T. Gillett ◽  
David Honsberger ◽  
Lourdes Chamorro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Classical Biological Control ◽  
Environmental Safety ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Hypothenemus Hampei ◽  
Parasitism Rate ◽  
Limited Host Range ◽  
Parasitoid Development

AbstractPhymastichus coffea LaSalle (Hymenoptera:Eulophidae) is an adult endoparasitoid of the coffee berry borer, Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari) (Coleoptera:Curculionidae:Scolytinae), which has been introduced in many coffee producing countries as a biological control agent. To determine the effectiveness of P. coffea against H. hampei and environmental safety for release in Hawaii, we investigated the host selection and parasitism response of adult females to 43 different species of Coleoptera, including 23 Scolytinae (six Hypothenemus species and 17 others), and four additional Curculionidae. Non-target testing included Hawaiian endemic, exotic and beneficial coleopteran species. Using a no-choice laboratory bioassay, we demonstrated that P. coffea was only able to parasitize the target host H. hampei and four other adventive species of Hypothenemus: H. obscurus, H. seriatus, H. birmanus and H. crudiae. Hypothenemus hampei had the highest parasitism rate and shortest parasitoid development time of the five parasitized Hypothenemus spp. Parasitism and parasitoid emergence decreased with decreasing phylogenetic relatedness of the Hypothenemus spp. to H. hampei, and the most distantly related species, H. eruditus, was not parasitized. These results suggest that the risk of harmful non-target impacts is low because there are no native species of Hypothenemus in Hawaii, and P. coffea could be safely introduced for classical biological control of H. hampei in Hawaii.

scholarly journals Host Range and Impact of Dichrorampha aeratana, the First Potential Biological Control Agent for Leucanthemum vulgare in North America and Australia

Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 438
Author(s):  
Sonja Stutz ◽  
Rosemarie De Clerck-Floate ◽  
Hariet L. Hinz ◽  
Alec McClay ◽  
Andrew J. McConnachie ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
North America ◽  
Larval Development ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Multiple Choice ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
Larval Feeding ◽  
Invasive Weed ◽  
Choice Tests

We evaluated the potential of the European root-feeding moth Dichrorampha aeratana as a biological control agent for the invasive weed Leucanthemum vulgare (oxeye daisy) in North America and Australia. The taxonomic proximity of the ornamental Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum × superbum) to L. vulgare and its popularity in North America made finding sufficiently host-specific biological control agents a challenge. No-choice tests conducted with 74 non-target species revealed partial or complete larval development on 11 species. In multiple-choice oviposition and larval development tests that were conducted in field cages, larvae were found on five of these, however in multiple-choice tests conducted under open-field conditions, larvae were only found on the ornamentals Shasta daisy and creeping daisy (Mauranthemum paludosum). Larval feeding by D. aeratana had no measurable impact on Shasta daisy, but larval feeding and plant competition reduced the biomass and number of flower heads of L. vulgare. We conclude that D. aeratana is a suitable biological control agent because it will not affect the ornamental value of Shasta or creeping daisies and because it is unlikely to feed on any other economically important or native species. We also expect D. aeratana to contribute to the suppression of L. vulgare populations.

scholarly journals The Asian Chestnut Gall Wasp in Italy: Surveys on its Native and Exotic Parasitoids as Well as on Chestnut Cultivar Susceptibility

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
M. Bracalini ◽  
F. Croci ◽  
A. Turchi ◽  
E. Giordani ◽  
R. Tiberi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Biological Control ◽  
Native Species ◽  
Biological Control Agent ◽  
Control Agent ◽  
The Other ◽  
Parasitoid Species ◽  
Gall Wasp ◽  
Native Parasitoids ◽  
Torymus Sinensis ◽  
Cultivar Susceptibility

In the context of biological control against the Asian chestnut gall wasp Dryocosmus kuriphilus Yasumatsu (Hymenoptera: Cynipidae) in Italy, the aim of this study was to survey its native parasitoids as well as the exotic Torymus sinensis Kamijo which had been introduced and released as a biological control agent. Furthermore, both parasitism and pest susceptibility of local chestnut trees were investigated. Surveys were carried out in 2014 in the Municipality of Sambuca Pistoiese (Pistoia), in a chestnut forest which included three cultivars: Nerattino, Carpinese, and Pastinese. On a total of 35 trees, selected among the three cultivars, 24 current-year shoots were randomly collected and examined in the laboratory. After the damage by the cynipid had been assessed, leaf samples were used for molecular analyses. Galls were also collected on the 35 selected trees both for dissection and to rear parasitoid specimens in the laboratory. The three cultivars were confirmed by genetic tests. The Carpinese cultivar resulted to be the most damaged, with highest percentage of attacked shoots (84.38%). Moreover it was also the cultivar with the lower parasitism rate (about 16%). From reared galls seven parasitoid species emerged, all belonging to the superfamily of Chalcidoidea. Exception made for the non-native T. sinensis, the other six were native species associated to oak gall wasps.  Native parasitoids were more scarcely present, while the exotic T. sinensis amounted for the 84.27% of all emerged parasitoids. Our results confirm how chestnut susceptibility to D. kuriphilus varies depending on the cultivar. Overall, the Nerattino cultivar resulted as the best among the three examined: it was subject to a less intense attack than the other cultivars, and the resulting smaller galls were more effectively exploited by parasitoids.

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