Evaluation of Nastus fausti Reitter (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Entiminae: Nastini) for biological control of invasive giant hogweeds (Heracleum spp.)

Abstract

The weevil Nastus fausti Reitter (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) was evaluated for its potential in the biological control of invasive giant hogweeds (Heracleum spp.). Quantitative sampling suggested that at a high population density (more that 3–4 mature larvae per plant) damage by N. fausti larvae could have some negative impact on the above-ground part of the plant. However, no-choice laboratory tests showed that N. fausti females were able to feed on a number of Apiaceae genera, including such important cultivated crops as carrot, parsnip, and celeriac. Feeding on these plants did not cause any significant decrease in female survival or fecundity. Moreover, at least part of N. fausti larvae may feed and develop on roots of these plants, and the rate of their growth and development does not differ significantly from that in larvae fed on roots of H. mantegazzianum. N. fausti adult and larval feeding on Angelica purpurascens, representative of related genus of the same tribe, was recorded under natural conditions, too. In combination, these data suggest that N. fausti is an oligophagous species connected with plants from at least several genera of Apiaceae and thus it cannot be considered a potential agent for biological control of invasive Heracleum species.