West African Arthropods Hold Promise as Biological Control Agents for an Invasive Tree in the Pacific Islands

AbstractAfter the recent introduction of the pest whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotype B into Australia, research was undertaken to study the parasitoids of the long established native B. tabaci and Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood). The genus Encarsia species which are important biological control agents of whiteflies and hard scales. The taxonomy of the Encarsia species attacking B. tabaci and T. vaporariorum in Australia and the Pacific Islands is revised. DNA sequencing of the 28S D2 ribosomal DNA was used characterize species. Sixteen species are recognized, with 12 occurring in Australia, eight in the Pacific region, and four in both regions. All except one species (E. formosa Gahan) are new records for Australia. Four species are described as new from Australia: E. accenta & Naumann sp. n., E. adusta Schmidt & Naumann sp. n., E. oakeyensis Schmidt & Naumann sp. n., and E. ustulata Schmidt & Naumann sp. n. Diagnostic descriptions are given for all species and each species is illustrated. pictorial key is provided to allow the identification of species by non-specialists.

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Rat-control procedures on the Pacific islands, with special reference to the efficiency of biological control agents. II : Efficiency of the Japanese weasel, Mustelu sibirica itatsi Temminck & Schlegel, as a rat-control agent in the Ryukyus”

Journal of the Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University ◽

10.5109/22793 ◽

1969 ◽

Vol 15 (4) ◽

pp. 355-385

Author(s):

Teruaki Uchida

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Special Reference ◽

Pacific Islands ◽

Control Agent ◽

Biological Control Agents ◽

The Pacific ◽

Control Procedures

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Biological Control of Pest Non-Marine Molluscs: A Pacific Perspective on Risks to Non-Target Organisms

Insects ◽

10.3390/insects12070583 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (7) ◽

pp. 583

Author(s):

Carl C. Christensen ◽

Robert H. Cowie ◽

Norine W. Yeung ◽

Kenneth A. Hayes

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Environmental Impacts ◽

Pacific Islands ◽

Generalist Predators ◽

Snail Species ◽

Marine Mollusk ◽

The Pacific ◽

History Of ◽

Ecosystem Level ◽

Scientific Framework

Classic biological control of pest non-marine mollusks has a long history of disastrous outcomes, and despite claims to the contrary, few advances have been made to ensure that contemporary biocontrol efforts targeting mollusks are safe and effective. For more than half a century, malacologists have warned of the dangers in applying practices developed in the field of insect biological control, where biocontrol agents are often highly host-specific, to the use of generalist predators and parasites against non-marine mollusk pests. Unfortunately, many of the lessons that should have been learned from these failed biocontrol programs have not been rigorously applied to contemporary efforts. Here, we briefly review the failures of past non-marine mollusk biocontrol efforts in the Pacific islands and their adverse environmental impacts that continue to reverberate across ecosystems. We highlight the fact that none of these past programs has ever been demonstrated to be effective against targeted species, and at least two (the snails Euglandina spp. and the flatworm Platydemus manokwari) are implicated in the extinction of hundreds of snail species endemic to Pacific islands. We also highlight other recent efforts, including the proposed use of sarcophagid flies and nematodes in the genus Phasmarhabditis, that clearly illustrate the false claims that past bad practices are not being repeated. We are not making the claim that biocontrol programs can never be safe and effective. Instead, we hope that in highlighting the need for robust controls, clear and measurable definitions of success, and a broader understanding of ecosystem level interactions within a rigorous scientific framework are all necessary before claims of success can be made by biocontrol advocates. Without such amendments to contemporary biocontrol programs, it will be impossible to avoid repeating the failures of non-marine mollusk biocontrol programs to date.

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Temporal Asynchrony of Adult Emergence Between Leucopis argenticollis and Leucopis piniperda (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), Predators of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae), with Implications for Biological Control

Environmental Entomology ◽

10.1093/ee/nvaa049 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 49 (4) ◽

pp. 823-828

Author(s):

Alex N Neidermeier ◽

Darrell W Ross ◽

Nathan P Havill ◽

Kimberly F Wallin

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

North America ◽

Pacific Northwest ◽

Adult Emergence ◽

Hemlock Woolly Adelgid ◽

Adelges Tsugae ◽

Tsuga Heterophylla ◽

Eastern North America ◽

Biological Control Agents ◽

The Pacific

Abstract Two species of silver fly, Leucopis argenticollis (Zetterstedt) and Leucopis piniperda (Malloch) (Diptera: Chamaemyiidae), from the Pacific Northwest region of North America have been identified as potential biological control agents of hemlock woolly adelgid (Hemiptera: Adelgidae: Adelges tsugae Annand) in eastern North America. The two predators are collectively synchronized with A. tsugae development. To determine whether adult emergence of the two species of silver fly are also synchronized with one another, we collected adult Leucopis which emerged from A. tsugae-infested western hemlock [Pinaceae: Tsuga heterophylla (Raf.) Sarg.] from four sites in the Pacific Northwest over a 29-d period. Specimens were collected twice daily in the laboratory and identified to species using DNA barcoding. The study found that more adult Leucopis were collected in the evening than the morning. Additionally, the daily emergences of adults over the 29-d sampling period exhibited sinusoidal-like fluctuations of peak abundance of each species, lending evidence to a pattern of temporal partitioning. This pattern could have logistical implications for their use as biological control agents in eastern North America, namely the need to release both species for maximum efficacy in decreasing A. tsugae populations.

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History, opportunities and challenges for biological control in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands

Crop Protection ◽

10.1016/j.cropro.2006.01.019 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 255-265 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

M.H. Julien ◽

J.K. Scott ◽

W. Orapa ◽

Q. Paynter

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

New Zealand ◽

Pacific Islands ◽

The Pacific

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Genetic estimates of dispersal ability in the leucaena psyllid predator Curinus coeruleus (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae): implications for biological control

Bulletin of Entomological Research ◽

10.1017/s0007485300034933 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 86 (4) ◽

pp. 355-361 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Peter A. Follett ◽

George K. Roderick

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Gene Flow ◽

Pacific Islands ◽

Isolation By Distance ◽

Geographic Distance ◽

Population Subdivision ◽

Dispersal Ability ◽

The Pacific ◽

The Individual ◽

Curinus Coeruleus

AbstractThe leucaena psyllid, Heteropsylla cubana Crawford, can devastate plantings of Leucaena leucocephala (Leguminosae), an economically important tree species in the Pacific Islands, Southeast Asia, Australia, India, Africa, and elsewhere. The predatory beetle, Curinus coeruleus Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae), has been introduced into many of these areas from Hawaii for biological control of the psyllid. In this study, collections of C. coeruleus were made from 11 populations on four islands in the Hawaiian archipelago to determine population structure and estimate levels of gene flow. Over all populations, a measure of population subdivision, θ was 0.095, and the estimate of Nem, the average migration rate, was 2.4. θ values for the individual islands were 0.02, 0.12, 0.24 and 0.05 for Kauai, Hawaii, Maui, and Oahu, respectively. Estimated levels of gene flow between populations were not correlated with geographic distance, therefore isolation by distance does not appear to be an important process structuring C. coeruleus populations. Gene flow estimates can be used to characterize dispersal capabilities in insects or other organisms released for biological control. In this case, the inferior dispersal ability of C. coeruleus likely limits its rapid widespread establishment during release programmes.

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Integrated pest management: an under-utilized tool for conservation and the management of invasive ants and their mutualistic Hemiptera in the Pacific

Pacific Conservation Biology ◽

10.1071/pc080246 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 14 (4) ◽

pp. 246 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Philip J. Lester

Keyword(s):

Biological Control ◽

Integrated Pest Management ◽

Pest Management ◽

Pacific Island ◽

Biological Control Agents ◽

Invasive Ants ◽

Ecological Thresholds ◽

The Pacific

Intergrated pest management (IPM) is a well-developed technology applied primarily in agroecosystems. In many situations, IPM, with associated biological control agents, can stop the need for pesticide applications and results in pest densities being sustained below economic or ecological thresholds. My thesis is that IPM is a highly functional tool that is largely being ignored in conservation, and specifically that it is critical for the sustained control of invasive ants in many Pacific island and atoll systems.

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