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Biological control of giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta) in a temperate region: cold tolerance and low temperature oviposition of Cyrtobagous salviniae

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Abstract

Success of Cyrtobagous salviniae Calder & Sands (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) for biological control of Salvinia molesta D. S. Mitchell in temperate regions has been less reliable than in tropical and subtropical regions and this difference is presumed to be due to greater winter mortality. We measured the cold tolerance of C. salviniae by comparing chill coma recovery time and survival of adults after exposure to freezing conditions among four geographic populations collected from Florida, Louisiana, Texas and Australia. Effects of winter temperature acclimation on low temperature oviposition also were determined. The Australian population was more cold tolerant than the three US populations. No oviposition by C. salviniae was observed at a water temperature of 17 °C and the oviposition rate at 19 °C was less than at 21, 23 and 25 °C. We suggest that introduction of cold tolerant strains of C. salviniae could increase its effectiveness in temperate regions of the US.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by grants from the Natural Resource Conservation Service, USDA (USDA NRCS Agreement # 68‐7442‐10‐499). Preliminary cold tolerance experiments were supported by a grant from the US National Science Foundation to DH (NSF-IOS-1051890). The authors thank P. Krauter and M. Lewis (Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, USA) for their editorial comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript, and Sophia Daniels, Entomology Department, Texas A&M University, USA. The authors are also grateful to Lee Eisenberg, Texas AgriLife Extension; Julie Nachtrieb, Lewisville Aquatic Ecosystem Research Facility, US Army Corps of Engineers; Mathew Purcell, USDA ARS Australian Biological Control Laboratory and Phillip Tipping, Invasive Plant Research Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Ft. Lauderdale for their assistance during this study.

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  1. Abhishek Mukherjee

    Present address: Agricultural and Ecological Research Unit, Biological Science Division, Indian Statistical Institute, Giridih, Jharkhand, India

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology and Texas AgriLife Research, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Abhishek Mukherjee

  2. Department of Entomology, Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 17360 Coit Road, Dallas, TX, 75252, USA

    Allen Knutson

  3. Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Daniel A. Hahn

  4. Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Kevin M. Heinz

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  1. Abhishek Mukherjee
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  2. Allen Knutson
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Correspondence to Allen Knutson.

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Handling Editor: John Scott.

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Mukherjee, A., Knutson, A., Hahn, D.A. et al. Biological control of giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta) in a temperate region: cold tolerance and low temperature oviposition of Cyrtobagous salviniae . BioControl 59, 781–790 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-014-9617-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-014-9617-4

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