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Environmental risk assessment of the egg parasitoid Anaphes inexpectatus for classical biological control of the Eucalyptus snout beetle, Gonipterus platensis

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Abstract

Classical biological control is a valuable tool against invasive pests, but concerns about non-target effects requires risk assessment studies. Potential non-target effects of Anaphes inexpectatus Huber and Prinsloo (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) were assessed for a classical biological control programme against the Eucalyptus snout beetle, Gonipterus platensis (Marelli) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae). No-choice tests were conducted with 17 non-target species to assess host specificity, including 11 curculionids. In behavioural observations, A. inexpectatus showed no interest in any of the non-target species, but two weevil species were parasitised within five days of exposure, although at significantly lower rates than G. platensis. In choice tests, only one non-target, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), was parasitised, at a rate of 0.6%, while 50.0% of G. platensis eggs were parasitised. Based on the host specificity test results and the potential host fauna found in the target area, the likelihood of non-target effects resulting from the release of A. inexpectatus is considered to be negligible.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Rolf Oberprieler (CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences, Australia) and Brett Hurley (FABI, University of Pretoria, South Africa) for their useful suggestions on non-target species selection, and John Huber (Agriculture and Agri-Food, Canada) for kindly confirming the identity of parasitoids. We are grateful to Matthias Schöller (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany) for providing C. rufipes eggs and to Koppert Biological Systems (The Netherlands) for providing C. carnea eggs. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RAIZ - Instituto de Investigação da Floresta e Papel, Quinta de São Francisco, Apartado 15, 3801-501, Eixo-Aveiro, Portugal

    Carlos Valente, Catarina Afonso & Catarina I. Gonçalves

  2. Departamento de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales (CSIC), José Gutiérrez Abascal, 2, 28006, Madrid, Spain

    Miguel A. Alonso-Zarazaga

  3. Altri Florestal, S.A., Quinta do Furadouro, 2510-582, Olho Marinho, Portugal

    Ana Reis

  4. Centro de Estudos Florestais, Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa, Tapada da Ajuda, 1349-017, Lisbon, Portugal

    Manuela Branco

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  1. Carlos Valente
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  2. Catarina Afonso
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  3. Catarina I. Gonçalves
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  4. Miguel A. Alonso-Zarazaga
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Correspondence to Carlos Valente.

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Handling Editor: Dirk Babendreier.

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Valente, C., Afonso, C., Gonçalves, C.I. et al. Environmental risk assessment of the egg parasitoid Anaphes inexpectatus for classical biological control of the Eucalyptus snout beetle, Gonipterus platensis . BioControl 62, 457–468 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-017-9809-9

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