Clover root weevil in the South Island detection response and current distribution

Phillips, C.B.; McNeill, M.R.; Hardwick, S.; Vink, Cornelis; Kean, John M.; Bewsell, Denise; Ferguson, C. M.; Winder, L.M.; Iline, I.I.; Barron, M. C.; Stuart, Bryan L.

doi:10.30843/nzpp.2007.60.4622

Cited by 14 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…In the 2005-06 season, the Christchurch Airport traps were checked eight times and 30 adult weevils (mean 1.6 per trap) were recovered. The number of weevils collected was fairly consistent through time with a maximum of 11 weevils recovered from eight traps on 23 January 2006, including the first detection of Sitona lepidus Gyllenhal in the South Island (Phillips et al 2007). The Lyttelton seaport and devanning site traps were checked six times and no weevils were recovered.…”

Section: Curculionid Trapsmentioning

confidence: 69%

Surveillance for weevils and cobweb spiders at high risk sites around Christchurch New Zealand

McNeill

Vink²,

Phillips³

2009

NZPP

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Most arthropod traps available for biosecurity surveillance are either generic and incur problems with large bycatches or are targeted at one or a few species and have limited application Traps designed to be of intermediate specificity were tested at three high risk sites in Christchurch Traps with and without attractants targeting weevils (Curculionidae) and two trap types targeting cobweb spiders (Theridiidae) were evaluated The weevil traps captured nine weevil species from six genera including the first detection of Sitona lepidus in the South Island Significantly more weevils were captured in the traps with attractants The spider traps captured spiders in the families Theridiidae Linyphiidae and Agelenidae including the first detection of Nesticodes rufipes (Theridiidae) in the South Island For all traps bycatches were small and readily processed and included a cricket Gryllodes sigillatus that is not established in New Zealand Traps of intermediate specificity have potential for operational use in high risk site surveillance

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Section: Curculionid Trapsmentioning

confidence: 69%

Surveillance for weevils and cobweb spiders at high risk sites around Christchurch New Zealand

McNeill

Vink²,

Phillips³

2009

NZPP

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“…S. obsoletus (formerly described as S. lepidus and S. flavescens ), is a Palaearctic species first detected in the North Island of New Zealand in 1996 ( Barratt et al, 1996 ). It was first discovered in the South Island of New Zealand in 2006, with discrete populations located near Richmond, Rai Valley and Christchurch ( Phillips et al, 2007 ). The weevil shows a strong preference for white clover ( Trifolium repens L.), although overseas it has also been considered a pest of red clover ( T. pratense L.) ( Brudea, 1982 ; Murray and Clements, 1994 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Management recommendations to minimize impacts included increased applications of artificial nitrogen, especially in spring, pasture management to encourage white clover production, and a prolonged fallow or crop to eliminate larval populations prior to resowing of new pastures. As part of the management program to control S. obsoletus , the Braconid endoparasitoid Microctonus aethiopoides , was introduced in 2006 ( Gerard et al, 2006 ; Phillips et al, 2007 ). Originally from Ireland, the parasitoid attacks the adult weevil, with parasitism resulting in sterilization and the eventual death of the weevil upon emergence of the parasitoid larvae.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does White Clover (Trifolium repens) Abundance in Temperate Pastures Determine Sitona obsoletus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Larval Populations?

et al. 2016

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To determine if host plant abundance determined the size of clover root weevil (CRW) Sitona obsoletus larval populations, a study was conducted over 4 years in plots sown in ryegrass (Lolium perenne) (cv. Nui) sown at either 6 or 30 kg/ha and white clover (Trifolium repens) sown at a uniform rate of 8 kg/ha. This provided a range of % white clover content to investigate CRW population establishment and impacts on white clover survival. Larval sampling was carried out in spring (October) when larval densities are near their spring peak at Lincoln (Canterbury, New Zealand) with % clover measured in autumn (April) and spring (September) of each year. Overall, mean larval densities measured in spring 2012–2015 were 310, 38, 59, and 31 larvae m-2, respectively. There was a significant decline in larval populations between 2012 and 2013, but spring populations were relatively uniform thereafter. The mean % white clover measured in autumns of 2012 to 2015 was 17, 10, 3, and 11%, respectively. In comparison, mean spring % white clover from 2012 to 2015, averaged c. 5% each year. Analysis relating spring (October) larval populations to % white clover measured in each plot in autumn (April) found the 2012 larval population to be statistically significantly larger in the ryegrass 6 kg/ha plots than 30 kg/ha plots. Thereafter, sowing rate had no significant effect on larval populations. From 2013 to 2015, spring larval populations had a negative relationship with the previous autumn % white clover with the relationship highly significant for the 2014 data. When CRW larval populations in spring 2013 to 2015 were predicted from the 2013 to 2015 autumn % white clover, respectively, based on their positive relationship in 2012, the predicted densities were substantially larger than those observed. Conversely, when 2015 spring larval data and % clover was regressed against 2012–2014 larval populations, observed densities tended to be higher than predicted, but the numbers came closer to predicted for the 2013 and 2014 populations. These differences are attributed to a CRW population decline that was not accounted by % white clover changes, the CRW decline most likely due to biological control by the Braconid endoparasitoid Microctonus aethiopoides, which showed incremental increases in parasitism between 2012 and 2015, which in 2015 averaged 93%.

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“…In the South Island, isolated populations of CRW were discovered in Christchurch, Richmond and the Rai Valley in 2006 (Phillips et al 2007), Otago in 2009, Southland in 2010 (Phillips et al 2010) and Westland in 2012 (Ferguson et al 2012). These isolated populations probably arose from inadvertent human-assisted dispersal of CRW in association with farming activities (Phillips et al 2010;Ferguson et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Response to clover root weevil outbreaks in South Canterbury, Otago and Southland; the agricultural sector and government working together

Hardwick¹,

Ferguson²,

McCauley³

et al. 2016

Journal of NZ Grasslands

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Clover root weevil was first discovered in the northern South Island in 2006, and an introduced biocontrol agent the parasitoid wasp Microctonus aethiopoides, was immediately released there in response. As the weevil spread southwards, ongoing releases and natural parasitoid dispersal generally supressed it to economically tolerable levels. However, mild winters in the southern South Island during 2013 and 2014 allowed weevil populations to grow and spread quicker than the parasitoid. This severely impacted white clover production and farm profitability in parts of South Canterbury, Otago and Southland, thus, scientists and industry conducted 18 months of intensive parasitoid releases of ca. 1.1 million parasitised weevils at 6000 sites. The parasitoid rapidly established at all 50 monitored release sites and dispersed from them. The biocontrol agent now occurs at all locations in South Canterbury, Otago, Southland, and elsewhere in New Zealand, where clover root weevil is present. Keywords: biological control, pest spread, parasitic wasp, Sitona obsoletus, Microctonus aethiopoides, South Canterbury, Southland, Otago

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Clover root weevil in the South Island detection response and current distribution

Cited by 14 publications

References 12 publications

Surveillance for weevils and cobweb spiders at high risk sites around Christchurch New Zealand

Surveillance for weevils and cobweb spiders at high risk sites around Christchurch New Zealand

Does White Clover (Trifolium repens) Abundance in Temperate Pastures Determine Sitona obsoletus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Larval Populations?

Response to clover root weevil outbreaks in South Canterbury, Otago and Southland; the agricultural sector and government working together

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