Abstract
The leaf-feeding beetleWeiseana barkeri Jacoby feeds onAcacia nilotica (L.) Willdenow ex Delile in Kenya. Host specificity tests show it is host specific toA. nilotica and approval has been given for its field release in northwest Queensland. A novel rearing and host specificity-testing technique is reported whereA. nilotica foliage stimulates oviposition into strips of corrugated cardboard.
Résumé
Au Kenya, la chrysomèle phytophage,Weiseana barkeri Jacoby, se nourrit surAcacia nilotica (L.) Willdenow ex Delile. Des essais de spécificité à l'hôte montre que cette espèce est strictement spécifique àA. nilotica: l'autorisation de lâcher dans le nord ouest du Queensland a donc été demandée pour cet auxiliaire carA. nilotica est considérée comme une plante nuisible dans les zones de pacage de troupeaux dans cette région d'Australie. En outre, une nouvelle technique d'élevage et de tests de spécificité à l'hôte est rappotée dans laquelle la présence de feuillage deA. nilotica permet de stimuler l'oviposition deW. barkeri sur des bandes de carton ondulé.
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Marohasy, J. Biology and host specificity ofWeiseana barkeri (Col.: Chrysomelidae): A biological control agent forAcacia nilotica (mimosaceae) . Entomophaga 39, 335–340 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02373038
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02373038