Author
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Pemberton, Robert |
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Submitted to: Germplasm Release
Publication Type: Germplasm Release Publication Acceptance Date: 2/2/2009 Publication Date: N/A Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary: Air potato (Dioscorea bulbifera) is one of the most serious invasive weeds of upland forests in Florida. Lilioceris sp. near impressa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) a leaf beetle was discovered in Nepal in 2002. Both the adults and the larvae of the bettle feed on the leaves of this climbing vine. The adults and larvae also feed on the plant's aerial bubils, which are the only means of spread of the weed in United States because it does not produce seed in this country. The insects are voracious feeders of air potato leaves. The larvae consume almost a square meter of leaves during their development, while the long-lived adults can consume another two meters of leaves. Host plant specificity testing in the Fort Lauderdale biological control quarantine laboratory demonstrated that the beetle is a narrow specialist able to feed significantly and develop only the target weed. The two native North American Dioscorea species and representative West Indian Dioscorea species were unacceptable to the insect. The finding that Lilioceris sp. near impressa is host specific to the target weed, enabled a release petition for this beetle to be written. This petition, which is a request for field release in Florida (the first in the US), summarizes a wide array of research and information on moth including its biology and ecology as well as its safety and potential utility as a control agent. The petition will be submitted to the USDA-APHIS Technicial Advisory Group for Biological Control of Weeds for interagency scientific review. Their approval of the petition, followed by an Environmental Assessment largely based on the petition, are the next steps in the process leading to the potential use of the beetle for air potato control. Technical Abstract: No abstract. |
