Utilization of an Introduced Weed Biological Control Agent,<i>Megamelus scutellaris</i>(Hemiptera: Delphacidae), by a Native Parasitoid

Minteer, Carey R.; Tipping, Philip W.; Knowles, Brittany K.; Valmonte, Ryann J.; Foley, Jeremiah R.; Gettys, Lyn A.

doi:10.1653/024.099.0343

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 5 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The no-insect control also varied from the multiple release of adults treatment specifically with fewer adult M. scutellaris found (p = 0.04), fewer mites found (p = 0.01), and fewer K. ema found (p = 0.04), and from the single release of an infested plant treatment with fewer N. eichhorniae adults (p = 0.003) and mites found (p = 0.01). Minteer et al (2016) noted that parasitism occurred more often when M. scutellaris and E. crassipes were at artificially high densities compared to field sites. As this experiment was conducted at the same facility as the rearing tanks in Minteer's study, it is likely that parasitism played some part in the population dynamics of M. scutellaris.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Five months following the last plant or insect releases (JD 026 in 2015 and JD 017 in 2016), treatments were sampled for M. scutellaris and then evaluated destructively by sampling five haphazardly selected plants per mesocosm to measure N. eichhorniae densities, insect damage, and plant biomass. Other insects were also counted from this sample, including Elophila (Synclita) obliteralis Walker (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), a native moth commonly found on E. crassipes in Florida (Habeck et al, 1986), and Kalopolynema ema Schauff & Grissell (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae), a native egg parasitoid that utilizes M. scutellaris (Minteer et al, 2016), as well as two mite species (the introduced Orthogalumna terebrantis Wallwork [Acari: Galumnidae] and the native Tetranychus tumidus Banks [Arachanida: Tetranychidae]; Center, 1987). Remaining plant material was bulked and placed in Berlese funnels for one week, after which collection vials were examined and the numbers of arthropods tallied.…”

Section: Release Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Small-scale dispersal of a biological control agent – Implications for more effective releases

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Eichhornia crassipes (Martius) Solms Laubach (Liliales: Pontederiaceae) was introduced to Florida in the 1880s as an ornamental and it once infested thousands of square kilometers across the state. Megamelus scutellaris Berg (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) was developed as a classical biological control agent for this plant primarily because its free-living life stages allow it to better integrate with herbicides, which are currently used as the main control method for E. crassipes in Florida. Mass rearing and distribution programs can accelerate the benefits of biological control by augmenting natural dispersal, but an optimal release strategy must consider the entire system including the agent, the target weed, and the habitat. The effectiveness of various release strategies was evaluated using a tank experiment where single and multiple releases of either adult M. scutellaris only or E. crassipes infested with M. scutellaris eggs were compared to control treatments. The post-release dispersal capability of brachypterous M. scutellaris was evaluated using a linear transect of E. crassipes. Two density release treatments were tested and emerging nymphs were used as a proxy for female dispersal distances. All release treatments resulted in successful M. scutellaris population establishment and levels of M. scutellaris were not significantly different among them. The dispersal experiment indicated that adult females oviposit near the release point before dispersing. While the release experiment indicated that all treatments were similar, the continually fluctuating populations of E. crassipes makes establishment of populations difficult in the field. By releasing both adults and infested plants, additional propagule pressure can be attained from a single release event which can counter the tendency of adult M. scutellaris to disperse rapidly following release.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Release Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Small-scale dispersal of a biological control agent – Implications for more effective releases

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Three biological control species namely Neochetina eichhorniae Warner (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), Neochetina bruchi Hustache (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Niphograpta albiguttalis (Warren) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) (Center et al, 2002) were introduced previously but are vulnerable to herbicides which, by killing the plants, eliminates large portions of the internally feeding immature stages of their populations. Megamelus scutellaris was developed specifically to deal with the wide-scale use of herbicides because nymphs and adults feed externally and can move readily from sprayed to unsprayed plants (Tipping, Center, Sosa, & Dray, 2011 (Minteer et al, 2016). Pontederia crassipes readily invades and dominates communities with floating leaves like N. advena to the extent where N. advena, and presumably its herbivores, are often locally extirpated (Center et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…External feeding by M. scutellaris likely promotes more novel interactions by increasing their vulnerability to generalist predators and stenophagous parasitoids like Kalopolynema ema (Schauff and Grissell) (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) that commonly attacks the eggs of hemipteran species including the native congener M. davisi Van Duzee (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), a specialist herbivore on the native aquatic plant Nuphar advena (Aiton) W. T. Aiton (Nymphaeaceae) (Minteer et al, 2016). Pontederia crassipes readily invades and dominates communities with floating leaves like N. advena to the extent where N. advena , and presumably its herbivores, are often locally extirpated (Center et al, 2002).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Classical biological control and apparent competition: Evaluating a waterhyacinth invaded community module

Tipping

Smith

Lake

et al. 2020

Journal of Applied Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

1. The scope and complexity of interactions within community food webs necessitates their simplification to a community module scale for conducting empirical studies. An outdoor mesocosm study in the USA quantified the strengths of direct and indirect interactions between two herbivore congeners that fed on two aquatic plant species while sharing a parasitoid.2. Kalopolynema ema (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) is a stenophagous native egg parasitoid that attacks the hemipteran species in this study, Megamelus davisi (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), a native herbivore that feeds on the native aquatic species Nuphar advena, and the introduced biological control agent Megamelus scutellaris (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) that feeds on the non-native aquatic species waterhyacinth, Pontederia crassipes.3. The presence of M. scutellaris did not significantly increase parasitism of M. davisi indicating that apparent competition was not a factor in this community module. There was no evidence of any trophic cascades caused by these interactions based on the relative growth rates of biomass and leaf area for both plant species. Synthesis and applications. The relative strengths of community interactions var-ied with herbivore densities suggesting that should negative indirect effects with biological control agents occur they would likely be transient and closely linked to population dynamics as influenced by abiotic factors like temperature. Despite identifying potential negative interactions using path analysis, we saw no apparent competition following the insertion of a weed biological control agent into a community that contains an ecological analog. In this example, the primary negative interaction was biotic resistance to Megamelus scutellaris from attack by Kalopolynema ema. Adopting weed management tactics that emphasize efficacy, sustainability and environmental benevolence argue for the use of classical biological control when appropriate.

show abstract

“…Although native parasitoids are known to utilise M. scutellaris in its extant range, overall parasitism is relatively low (Minteer et al 2016). Tipping et al (2020) found no evidence of apparent competition between M. scutellaris and M. davisi, a native planthopper with the shared native parasitoid Kalopolynema ema (Schauff and Grissell) (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) in Florida.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Interactions among biological control agents on waterhyacinth: impacts of herbivory on the oviposition and development of Megamelus scutellaris

Goode

Knowles

Tipping

et al. 2020

Biocontrol Science and Technology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Multiple biological control agents have been developed and released to increase control and reduce treatment costs of Pontederia (Eichhornia) crassipes in Florida. Although two species of weevil (Neochetina eichhorniae and Neochetina bruchi) and the planthopper (Megamelus scutellaris) utilise P. crassipes for feeding and reproduction, little is known about their interactions including any negative interactions that might reduce their individual or overall effectiveness in suppressing the plant. Megamelus scutellaris was provided with the choice of weevil-damaged or undamaged plants and allowed to oviposit. Plants were then monitored individually for nymph emergence to determine the plant preference for adults. There were no differences in F 1 emergence numbers among the treatments indicating that in this specific situation the potential for negative interactions between Neochetina spp. and M. scutellaris is minimal. Additional studies are required to quantify the potential for other types of interactions among these biological control agents.

show abstract

Utilization of an Introduced Weed Biological Control Agent,Megamelus scutellaris(Hemiptera: Delphacidae), by a Native Parasitoid

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 10 publications

References 5 publications

Small-scale dispersal of a biological control agent – Implications for more effective releases

Small-scale dispersal of a biological control agent – Implications for more effective releases

Classical biological control and apparent competition: Evaluating a waterhyacinth invaded community module

Interactions among biological control agents on waterhyacinth: impacts of herbivory on the oviposition and development of Megamelus scutellaris

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About