Hostname: page-component-5c6d5d7d68-thh2z Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-08-22T02:18:49.113Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seasonal abundance and parasitism of Mesoclanis seed flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in South Africa, and implications for the biological control of Chrysanthemoides monilifera (Asteraceae) in Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

P.B. Edwards
P.B. Edwards*
Affiliation:
CSIRO Biological Control Unit, Zoology Department, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7700, South Africa
*
*CSIRO Entomology, PMB 44, Winnellie, Northern Territory 0822, Australia. Fax: (08) 8944 8444 E-mail: penny.edwards@terc.csiro.au
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The seasonal abundance and rates of parasitism of three species of Mesoclanis seed flies was studied in South Africa. The three species occur on Chrysanthemoides monilifera, and were recorded during most months of the year, whenever C. monilifera was flowering. At three sites in KwaZulu-Natal, numbers of eggs per capitulum of Mesoclanis polana Munro were highest on C. monilifera rotundata between June and November (winter/spring), towards the end of the main flowering flush. Parasitism of M. polana was between 50% and 90% for most of the year. Two other species of Mesoclanis (M. magnipalpis Bezzi and M. dubia Walker) occurred together on C. m. rotundata in the Eastern Cape (St Francis Bay), where parasitism during the year was between 55% and 95%. Peak numbers of eggs per capitulum (M. magnipalpis and M. dubia combined) occurred in May/June (winter), in the latter part of the main flowering flush. Mesoclanis magnipalpis was the only species recorded on C. m. pisifera in De Hoop Nature Reserve (Western Cape), where there was only one peak of oviposition (May/June), coinciding with the short and discrete flowering period of this subspecies. Parasitism was between 50% and 65%. At least nine species of parasitoid were reared from immature Mesoclanis stages. Eurytoma sp. (Eurytomidae) was a dominant parasitoid at all sites. Results are discussed in relation to the possible effectiveness of species of Mesoclanis seed flies as biological control agents of C. monilifera in Australia.

Type
Research Article
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 88 , Issue 4 , August 1998 , pp. 407 - 414
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adair, R.J. (1993) Biological control of Chrysanthemoides monilifera: an overview of activities in Australia. pp. 6–15in Holtkamp, H. (Ed.) Proceedings of a National Workshop on Chrysanthemoides monilifera. Port Macquarie, 28–30 04 1993.Google Scholar
Edwards, P.B. (1993) Research in South Africa on biological control agents for Chrysanthemoides monilifera. pp. 16–19in Holtkamp, R.H. (Ed.) Proceedings of a National Workshop on Chrysanthemoides monilifera. Port Macquarie, 28–30 04 1993.Google Scholar
Edwards, P.B. & Brown, E.M. (1997) Mesoclanis seed flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) on Chrysanthemoides (Asteraceae) in South Africa: distribution, attack strategy and impact on seed production. Bulletin of Entomological Research 87, 127–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edwards, P.B., Adair, R.J. & Holtkamp, R.H. (1996) Seedhead tephritids and their parasitoids – can predictions be made about likely parasitism of tephritids introduced into Australia for biological control of Asteraceae? pp. 153–164in Moran, V.C. & Hoffmann, J.H. (Eds) Proceedings of the IX International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds, 19–26 January 1996, Stellenbosch, South Africa, University of Cape Town.Google Scholar
Harris, P. (1989) The use of Tephritidae for the biological control of weeds. Biocontrol News and Information 10, 7–16.Google Scholar
Munro, H.K. (1950) Trypetid flies (Diptera) associated with the Calendulae, plants of the family Compositae in South Africa. 1. A bio-taxonomic study of the genus Mesoclanis. Journal of the Entomological Society of Southern Africa 13, 37–52.Google Scholar
Noble, I.R. & Weiss, P.W. (1989) Movement and modelling of buried seed of the invasive perennial Chrysanthemoides monilifera in coastal dunes and biological control. Australian Journal of Ecology 14, 55–64.Google Scholar
Weiss, P.W. (1986) The biology of Australian weeds 14. Chrysanthemoides monilifera (L.) T. Norl. The Journal of the Australian Institute of Agricultural Science 52, 127–134.Google Scholar
Woodburn, T.L. (1996) Reduction of seed set in nodding thistle (Carduus nutans) by the seed-fly, Urophora solstitialis, in Australia. pp. 165–169in McPheron, B.A. & Steck, G.J. (Eds) Fruit fly pests – a world assessment of their biology and management. Delray Beach, Florida, St Lucie Press.Google Scholar