Phytophagous arthropods associated with Solanum mauritianum Scopoli (Solanaceae) in the first Plateau of Paraná, Brazil: a cooperative project on biological control of weeds between Brazil and South Africa

Abstract

Neotropical Entomology 32(3): 519-522 (2003) Artrópodos Fitófagos Associados a Solanum mauritianum Scopoli (Solanaceae) PALAVRAS-CHAVE: Fumo-bravo, inimigo natural, invasoraABSTRACT -Solanum mauritianum Scopoli (bugweed), native to southern Brazil, is a major weed in South Africa where it has been targeted for biological control. In 1998, a cooperative project involving Brazilian and South African scientists was initiated to develop cooperative biological control studies involving native Brazilian plants that are invasive in South Africa. Surveys for natural enemies were carried out in the First Plateau of Paraná, where the plant is particularly abundant and where the climatic conditions are similar to high altitude areas in South Africa that are invaded by S. mauritianum. Populations of S. mauritianum supported a diverse herbivore fauna, which included at least 34 insect species and one mite species. Five species with high biological control potential were collected: two flower-feeding, two leaf-feeding and one stem-boring species. Three of these species have been studied in quarantine in South Africa, one of which has already been released for the biological control of S. mauritianum, while a fourth species, Anthonomus morticinus Clark (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), was studied in the field in Brazil.

Plant population structure and insect herbivory on Solanum mauritianum Scopoli (Solanaceae) in southern Brazil: a support to biological control

“…Indeed, the fact that only 2% of all leaves were not attacked by insects suggested that insect herbivory was much more significant than was suggested by the area loss table. Furthermore, this study did not consider the action of flower-feeding and stemboring species that were known to be abundant in the area (Pedrosa-Macedo et al, 2003) and which would further increased the levels of herbivory reported.…”

“…Indeed, the exploitation of insect herbivores to lower the growth rates and reproductive capacity of invasive plants is the primary function of biological control. Several insect herbivore species have been identified as potential biological control agents for release against S. mauritianum in South Africa (Olckers, 1999;Pedrosa-Macedo et al, 2003). Besides several leaf-feeding insect species that have potential for reducing the plant's high growth rates, species that reduce flowering and fruiting have been given high priority (Olckers, 2003).…”

Two new species of Acizzia Crawford (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) from the Solanaceae with a potential new economic pest of eggplant, Solanum melongena

“…No specimens of either species have been collected from S. mauritianum in its natural range in South America, or where wild tobacco bush has been recorded as a weed in other countries (Olckers et al. 2002; Pedrosa‐Macedo et al. 2003).…”

Ecological niche modelling of Gargaphia decoris (Heteroptera), a biological control agent of the invasive tree Solanum mauritianum (Solanales: Solanaceae)

“…The final data sets (Appendix S1) used to train the models were constituted by 13 and 45 records (including only native records and all records, respectively) compiled from specimens held at the Museo de La Plata (Argentina) and from the literature. 1,6,8,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24] Three records from New Zealand were personally communicated to the authors by Fowler. 8…”