Host range testing and biology of Abia sericea (Cimbicidae), a candidate for biological control of invasive teasels (Dipsacus spp.) in North America

Brian Rector,Vili Harizanova,Atanaska Stoeva

doi:10.3897/jhr.28.3044

Abstract

Invasive teasels (Dipsacus spp., Dipsacaceae) are widespread in the USA, being present in 43 states and listed as noxious in five. The cimbicid sawfly Abia sericea (Linné, 1767) is under evaluation as a potential agent for classical biological control of teasels. The host range, biology, and life history of this insect were studied under laboratory conditions and in common garden experiments from 2006–2010 at the Agricultural University of Plovdiv, Bulgaria in order to determine if this biocontrol candidate justified the expense of further testing under quarantine conditions in the USA. In the laboratory, potted plants from twelve plant species belonging to seven families were tested in choice tests of oviposition and feeding. Eggs were laid only on D. laciniatus and D. fullonum plants with only one exception, on Valeriana officinalis, although the larvae that hatched from the latter did not feed on that plant. Larval feeding was observed only on D. laciniatus, Knautia arvensis, and Scabiosa ochroleuca, all in the family Dipsacaceae, which has no species native to the New World nor any of economic importance. In common garden tests into which adults and third- and fourth-instar larvae were released in separate tests, eggs were laid and larvae fed only on D. laciniatus. The results of these experiments indicate that A. sericea has a narrow host range, most likely limited to Dipsacus species, and a few other Dipsacaceae and that further pre-release studies in a US quarantine are warranted.

Highlights

Fuller’s teasel, Dipsacus fullonum L., and cutleaf teasel, D. laciniatus L., are both native to Europe and western Asia and have become invasive alien weeds in non-agricultural habitats in the United States, present in 43 states, listed as noxious in five, and invasive in at least 12 more (Rector et al 2006)
All members of the family Dipsacaceae are native to the Old World (Verlaque 1985) and none are of agricultural importance (Bailey 2001); classical biological control of invasive teasels in the New World using natural enemies imported from their native range is considered to be a worthwhile pursuit (Rector et al 2006)
Of the plant species tested in these experiments, Dipsacus laciniatus, D. fullonum, Knautia arvensis L. (Coult.), Scabiosa ochroleuca L., and Cephalaria transylvanica (L.) Roemer & Schultes were grown in pots from field-collected seeds, whereas carrot (Daucus carota L.), lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.), sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) and Valeriana officinalis L., plants were grown in pots from commercially available seeds

Summary

Introduction

Fuller’s teasel, Dipsacus fullonum L., and cutleaf teasel, D. laciniatus L., are both native to Europe and western Asia and have become invasive alien weeds in non-agricultural habitats in the United States, present in 43 states, listed as noxious in five, and invasive in at least 12 more (Rector et al 2006). Teasels are present in four Canadian provinces and listed as noxious in Manitoba (Werner 1975, Province of Manitoba 2011). These invasive teasels were probably introduced as contaminated seed of cultivated teasel, D. sativus (L.) Honck., an obsolete crop plant formerly used in wool processing (Ryder 1994). Surveys of natural enemies from the native ranges of D. fullonum and D. laciniatus have yielded 102 insect species, as well as 27 fungi, four mites, one nematode, and two viruses (Rector et al 2006, Rector and Petanović 2012). Some fungi have been identified as promising candidate agents (Rector et al 2006)

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