Recent Research on Invasive Weeds at the European Biological Control Laboratory (EBCL)

United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service Montferrier-sur-Lez, France

Lincoln Smith, Marie-Claude Bon, Gaylord Desurmont, Javid Kashefi,

René Sforza, Mélanie Tannières, Massimo Cristofaro, Francesca Marini,

John Goolsby, Brian Rector, Biljana Vidovic, Daniel E. Winkler, Patrick J. Moran

Solutions from

Nature

EBCL labs in France and Greece

Other USDA-supported labs:

Argentina – South American Biological Control Laboratory (FuEDEI)

Australia – Australian Biological Control Laboratory

China - Sino-American Biocontrol Lab

CABI – Delemont, Switzerland

OBCL Newsletter

DOWNLOAD AT:

http://www.ars-ebcl.org

Overseas Biological Control

Laboratories Australian Biological Control Laboratory

(ABCL), Australia

European Biological Control Laboratory

(EBCL), France

Foundation for the Study of Invasive Species

(FuEDEI), Argentina

Sino-American Biocontrol Laboratory

(SinoABL), China

European Biological Control Laboratory

Quarantine for insects and pathogens

Field garden experiments Glasshouses

Weed Targets

French broom (Genista monspessulana)

Giant reed (Arundo donax)

Hoary cress (Lepidium draba)

Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae)

Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis)

Also support:

African wire grass (Ventenata dubia)

Russian thistle (Salsola tragus)

Saltcedar (Tamarix spp.)

Scotch thistle (Onopordum spp.)

Swallow-worts (Vincetoxicum spp.)

? Sahara mustard (Brassica tournefortii)

Solutions from

Nature

French Broom (Genista monspessulana)

http://plants.usda.gov

Chemical ecology of psyllid Arytinnis hakani (Gaylord Desurmont)

Chloé Descombe

French broom

Genista monspessulana

Specificity & impact of weevil

Lepidapion argentatum (René Sforza)

www.gonhs.org/Lepidapionargentatum.htm

French broom killed by psyllid (Arytinnis hakani) in Australia

4 Sept. 2009, A. Sheppard, CSIRO

© Br. Alfred Brousseau, Saint Mary's College

French Broom Psyllid (Arytinnis hakani)

Kills Fr. broom in Australia.

27 lupine species have been tested.

Can develop on some lupines.

Field testing in France.

Laboratory choice tests:

Lupines vs. French broom

Develops in seeds ... T. Thomann

and in stem galls

René Sforza (EBCL), Thierry Thomann (CSIRO)

French Broom Weevil

Lepidapion argentatum

seed

s / p

od

Exit hole

present

Larva present Uninfested

viable

aborted

consumed

40% reduction of viable seed

Impact of Lepidapion argentatum on French broom

seed production

Solutions from

Nature R. Sforza

Presence of galls on 6 Broom species,

and 2 lupine species

Ste

ms w

ith g

alls

(%

)

6 Brooms 2 Lupines Thermopsis Astragalus

Solutions from

Nature

Host Plant Specificity of Lepidapion argentatum on 32 plant species

R. Sforza

No-Choice Oviposition Tests

Giant Reed (Arundo donax)

Glen county CDFA gall wasp release site

Biological Control Agents for Arundo

Stem tip-galling wasp Tetramesa romana

adventive in southern CA; Released in TX in 2007;

20% decrease biomass in 5 yrs

Root- and stem-feeding armored scale

Rhizaspidiotus donacis - Released in TX, CA

Goolsby et al. 2015. Biocontrol Science and Technology

Shipments of Arundo Agents

Javid Kashefi, Alex Chaskopoulou

John Goolsby, Madeline Marshall (ARS, Edinburg, TX)

Leaf sheath miner Lasioptera donacis

Petition approved

Oviposition by single females to

establish nematode-free

infestations for shipment to Texas

Tripius gyraloura, 1) Cluster of parasitic juveniles (arrow)

in a dissected female fly; 2) Free-living infective female.

Scale-bars: 1) 144 mm; 20 39 mm.

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

January February March April May June July August September October November December

Ave

rage

Cry

pto

nev

ra a

du

lts

(me

an +

SE)

Month

Average Cryptonevra sp. adults caught on sticky traps (7 sites)

Arundo Shoot Fly

Gaylord Desurmont

John Goolsby, (ARS, Edinburg, TX)

Arundo fly Cryptonevra sp.

• Collection of flies from

Phragmites and Arundo

• Seasonal abundance

• Potential efficacy

• Integrative taxonomy

(morphology & DNA)

Medusahead (Taeniatherum caput-medusae)

Frederiksen S. 1986. Revision of Taeniatherum (Poaceae).

Nordic Journal of Botany 6(4):389-397.

T. caput-medusae T. asperum T. crinitum

R. Sforza, B.G. Rector, S. Novak

Eriophyid mite on medusahead

Brian Rector, BBCA & cooperators

Aculodes altamurgiensis

Other Prospective Agents of Medusahead

Midge? But so far, only Eulophid

parasitoids have been reared out

Francesca Marini & Massimo Cristofaro (BBCA), Javid Kashefi (EBCL)

Moth larva

inside leaf

Hoary Cress: Lepidium draba

Root Galling Weevil

Ceutorhynchus assimilis

One host race strictly associated with L. draba,

distributed in Southern France/Northern Spain

1

9 8

7

3

29 (19)

30 (1) 28 (1)

27 (9) 26 (1) 25 (1)

24 (1) 23 (3)

22 (3)

21 (15)

20 (1) 31 (1)

19 (5)

18 (1) 17 (1)

16 (7)

15 (1) 14 (4)

13 (5)

12 (6)

11 (2)

10 (3)

(6)

6 (1) (1)

5 (1) 4 (5)

(1) 2 (1)

(1) 0.0005 substitutions/site

96, 88

61, 57

96, 90

86, -

60, -

61

59, 51

53, -

59, -

65, 60

97, 95

98, 98

64, 66

63, 59

59, -

62, 61

Molecular Genetics

distinguished a

Cryptic Species

Fumanal et al., 2005 Journal of Biotechnology 19:15-19. Marie-Claude Bon, EBCL

Yellow Starthistle Centaurea solstitalis

J. DiTomaso, UC Davis

Yellow starthistle seedhead weevil, Larinus filiformis

Multiplied weevil from Bulgaria for future

testing.

Russian thistle Salsola australis

Salsola collina

Salsola gobicola

Salsola tragus

Salsola ryanii

Salsola paulsenii

[not S. kali]

Salsola types

Hrusa & Gaskin. 2008.

Madroño 55(2) 113–131.

Russian thistle (Salsola tragus)

BBCA conducting field

host specificity test in

Italy.

Established colony at EBCL

from Greece.

Eriophyid mite

Aceria salsolae

L. Smith (EBCL)

F. Marini, M. Crisotofaro (BBCA)

Sahara mustard (Brassica tournefortii)

first identified in 1927 in the Coachella Valley, California

It is believed that the species was accidently introduced with the importation of date palms

from the Middle East

Likely origin from Morocco or Jordan (ddRADseq)

Daniel Winkler (University of California, Irvine)

Alexandra Chaskopoulou mosquitoes & sand flies

EBCL scientists

Marie-Claude Bon mol. genetics Insects leader

René Sforza entomology Weeds leader

[vacant] entomology

Javid Kashefi exploration

Gaylord Desurmont quarantine / entomology (chemical ecology)

Mélanie Tannières microbiology

Dawn Gundersen-Rindal Director, Dawn.Gundersen-Rindal@ars.usda.gov

Th

ess

alo

nik

i

Gre

ece

Franck Hérard Entomology Retired 12/17