The role of the flower-galling mite, Aceria lantanae, in integrated control of the light pink 163LP variety of Lantana camara (L.) in South Africa

Abstract

We evaluated the impact of the gall-forming mite, Aceria lantanae (Cook) (Acari: Trombidiformes: Eriophyidae) on flower and fruit production by coppicing shoots, following pruning, of a widely distributed variety (light pink 163LP) of Lantana camara L. (Verbenaceae) in South Africa. Counts, at three different sites, of developed inflorescences, flowers and fruits and the extent of A. lantanae galling were done for coppicing shoots at four different stages of growth (3, 6, 9- and 12-months post-pruning). The percentages of shoots with at least one A. lantanae gall, and the numbers of inflorescence galled per shoot were not significantly different between the three sites. The production of developed inflorescences and fruits were significantly reduced by up to 7.4 and 8.8-folds respectively on the untreated shoots, which were subject to attack and galling by A. lantanae, compared to shoots where A. lantanae had been excluded by insecticide-treatment. The relationship between shoot ages post-pruning and the numbers of flowers and fruits produced were significantly different for both the insecticide-treated and untreated shoots. However, the production of developed inflorescences and fruits for the shoots colonized by A. lantanae was significantly less than that for those shoots that had been insecticide-treated. Our results indicate that A. lantanae has the ability to recolonize and reduce the reproductive capacity of mechanically cleared, coppicing and regenerating growth of lantana, and thus can play an important, and as yet largely unrecognized, role in the integrated management of the 163LP variety of L. camara in South Africa.