Abstract
Chromolaena odorata L. is a major weed of tropical plantations and pasture lands.Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata Rego Barros [Lep.: Arctiidae] was mass-reared and released to control the weed on the Mariana Islands of Guam, Rota, Tinian and Saipan in the western Pacific. One year following establishment ofP. pseudoinsulata on Guam, the weed was reduced 100% at 3 of 4 sites monitored with fixed quadrats. Seed production was prevented if defoliation occurred prior to the beginning of the flowering season. If defoliation occurred shortly after flowering began, the developing seeds were eaten byP. pseudoinsulata or there was a significant reduction in weight and germination of seeds that matured. Eighteen months after establishing on Guam,P. pseudoinsulata had defoliated approximately 25,000 hectares of the weed. This is the 1st report on the quantitative impact of any control agent forC. odorata, and though the long term effect of the insect is still unknown, these results are encouraging.
Résumé
Chromolaena odorata L. est une mauvaise herbe qui prédomine dans les cultures et les pâturages tropicaux.Pareuchaetes pseudoinsulata Rego Barros [Lepidoptera: Arctiidae] fut élevé en masse et introduit dans les Iles Mariannes du Pacifique Occidental, en l'occurrence Guam, Rota, Tinian, et Saipan, dans le but de lutter contre cette mauvaise herbe. Dans l'année qui suivit l'introduction deP. pseudoinsulata dans l'Ile de Guam, cette mauvaise herbe fut réduite de 100% dans 3 sites sur quatre, contrôlés au moyen de quadrats fixés. La défoliation de cette herbe antérieure à sa floraison, empêche la montée en graine. Dans le cas d'une défoliation amorcée immédiatement après le début de la floraison, on constatait que les graines en développement furent consommées parP. pseudoinsulata ou, le cas échéant, que le poids ainsi que le taux de germination des graines mûres furent sérieusement réduits. Dix-huit mois après son introduction dans l'Ile de Guam, le lépidoptère avait réussi à défeuiller près de 25000 hectares. Ceci constitue le premier rapport sur l'effet quantitatif d'un agent régulateur quelconque surC. adorata et, bien que nous ignorions encore les effets à long terme de cet insecte, ces premiers résultats sont encourageants.
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Seibert, T.F. Biological control of the weed,Chromolaena odorata [Asteraceae], byPareuchaetes pseudoinsulata [Lep.: Arctiidae] on Guam and the northern Mariana Islands. Entomophaga 34, 531–539 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02374391
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02374391