Field Evaluation of Natural Enemies ofTamarixspp. in Southern France

Biomass of Arthropod Trophic Levels onTamarix ramosissima(Tamaricaceae) Branches

“…Moran and Southwood (1982) also found sap-sucking insects comprising 67% of herbivore biomass, whereas both arthropod herbivores on tamarisk have O. stactogalus sucking mouthparts (described in Wiesenborn 2004). Potted T. ramosissima plants from the United States were colonized in France by more diverse phytophagous insects, including Cecidomyiidae (Diptera), Curculionidae and Chrysomelidae (Coleoptera), and Pterophoridae (Lepidoptera) (Sobhian et al 1998). Fewer species of insect herbivores feed on Tamarix naturalized in the United States than on Tamarix in its native range (Lewis et al 2003a).…”

“…T. ramosissima hybridizes in the United States with Tamarix chinensis Loureiro (Gaskin and Schaal 2002), and hybrids of these species comprise most Tamarix plants in the United States (Gaskin and Schaal 2003). TamariskÕs invasiveness, water uptake, and low diversity of dependent wildlife have made it the target of classical biological control (Fornasari 1997(Fornasari , 1998Sobhian et al 1998, Dudley et al 2000, DeLoach et al 2003, Lewis et al 2003a.…”