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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Albany, California » Western Regional Research Center » Invasive Species and Pollinator Health » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #303987
Title: Taxonomic status of Trichosirocalus species (Curculionidae) attacking Carduus, Cirsium and Onopordum species

Author
item CRISTOFARO, MASSIMO - Enea Casaccia Research Center
item DE BIASE, ALESSIO - University Of Rome Sapienza
item COLONNELLI, ENZO - University Of Rome Sapienza
item BELVEDERE, SILVIA - University Of Rome Sapienza
item PAOLINI, ALESSANDRA - Biotechnology And Biological Control Agency
item LA MARCA, ALESSANDRA - Biotechnology And Biological Control Agency
item DI CRISTINA, FRANCA - Biotechnology And Biological Control Agency
item LECCE, FRANCESCA - Enea Casaccia Research Center
item Smith, Lincoln

Submitted to: International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/14/2014
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The genus Trichosirocalus Colonnelli includes some host-specific weevil species or biotypes with a relatively narrow host-range limited to some thistles of the subfamily Carduinae. An Italian population of T. horridus (Panzer) was introduced in 1974 into the USA, and a population from Germany was introduced to Canada in 1975, then to New Zealand in 1985 and Australia in 1993, primarily to control Carduus nutans L. The species T. briesei Alonso-Zarazaga & Sánchez-Ruiz, mainly distributed in Central Spain, was introduced into Australia in 1997 to control Onopordum acanthium L. A third weevil species that is associated with Cirsium spp., T. mortadelo Alonso-Zarazaga & Sánchez-Ruiz, was recently described, although several taxonomists question its validity. In order to clarify the status of these three taxa, a multidisciplinary approach has been performed combining behavioral host-range tests, morphological analyses and molecular-genetic analyses, based on mitochondrial (CO1) and nuclear (EF1a) markers. The differences between weevil ecotypes collected on different thistle species in Europe and Asia (Spain, France, Italy and Georgia), in the USA (Oregon), in Australia and in New Zealand, have been evaluated. First results support the existence of only two clearly distinguished species (p distance on CO1 ˜ 11%), T. briesei which develops on Onopordum, and T. horridus which can use both Carduus and Cirsium as host plants.