Dogbane Beetle (Chrysochus Auratus Fab.) As a Biological Control Agent of Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum Androsaemifolium L.)
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Dogbane Beetle (Chrysochus auratus Fab.) as a Biological Control Agent of Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium L.) by Megan C. MacEachern Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Dalhousie University Halifax, Nova Scotia October 2012 © Copyright by Megan C. MacEachern, 2012 DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE The undersigned hereby certify that they have read and recommend to the Faculty of Graduate Studies for acceptance a thesis entitled “Dogbane beetle (Chrysochus auratus Fab.) as a Biological Control Agent of Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium L.)” by Megan C. MacEachern in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Dated: October 4, 2012 Co-Supervisors: Readers: ii DALHOUSIE UNIVERSITY DATE: October 4, 2012 AUTHOR: Megan C. MacEachern TITLE: Dogbane Beetle (Chrysochus auratus Fab.) as a Biological Control Agent of Spreading Dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium L.) DEPARTMENT OR SCHOOL: Faculty of Agriculture DEGREE: MSc CONVOCATION: May YEAR: 2013 Permission is herewith granted to Dalhousie University to circulate and to have copied for non-commercial purposes, at its discretion, the above title upon the request of individuals or institutions. I understand that my thesis will be electronically available to the public. The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the thesis nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author’s written permission. The author attests that permission has been obtained for the use of any copyrighted material appearing in the thesis (other than the brief excerpts requiring only proper acknowledgement in scholarly writing), and that all such use is clearly acknowledged. _______________________________ Signature of Author iii Table of Contents List of Tables .................................................................................................................................. vi List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ vii Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... viii List of Abbreviations and Symbols Used........................................................................................ ix Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... x Chapter 1.0: Introduction ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Biological Control .................................................................................................................. 1 1.3 Blueberry Production ............................................................................................................. 3 1.4 Spreading Dogbane ................................................................................................................ 6 1.5 Dogbane Beetle ...................................................................................................................... 8 1.6 Summary .............................................................................................................................. 10 Chapter 2.0: Host Specificity and Potential Impact of Dogbane Beetle, Chrysochus auratus Fab.................................................................................................................................................. 11 2.1 ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... 11 2.2 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 11 2.3 Materials and Methods ......................................................................................................... 14 2.3.1 Host Specificity of Dogbane Beetle .............................................................................. 14 2.3.2 Potential Impact of Dogbane Beetle on Spreading Dogbane ........................................ 16 2.4 Results .................................................................................................................................. 18 2.4.1 Host Specificity of Dogbane Beetle .............................................................................. 18 2.4.2 Potential Impact of Dogbane Beetle on Spreading Dogbane ........................................ 19 2.5 Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 21 2.5.1 Host Specificity of Dogbane Beetle .............................................................................. 21 2.5.2 Potential Impact of Dogbane Beetle ............................................................................. 24 2.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 26 Chapter 3.0 Life History of Dogbane Beetle, Chrysochus auratus Fab. (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) in Nova Scotia. .................................................................................................... 28 3.1 ABSTRACT ......................................................................................................................... 28 3.2 Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 28 3.3 Materials and Methods ......................................................................................................... 30 3.3.1 Adult Distribution and Abundance in Blueberry Fields................................................ 30 3.3.2 Fecundity and Fertility .................................................................................................. 32 iv 3.3.3 Larval Head Width ........................................................................................................ 33 3.3.4 Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 34 3.4 Results .................................................................................................................................. 36 3.4.1 Adult Distribution and Abundance in Blueberry Fields................................................ 36 3.4.2 Fecundity and Fertility .................................................................................................. 43 3.4.3 Larval Head Width ........................................................................................................ 44 3.5 Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 45 3.5.1 Adult Distribution and Abundance in Blueberry Fields................................................ 45 3.5.2 Fertility and Fecundity .................................................................................................. 47 3.5.3 Larval Head Width ........................................................................................................ 48 3.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 49 Chapter 4.0 Overall Conclusions ................................................................................................... 50 References ...................................................................................................................................... 53 Appendix 1: Scale for the Description of Weed Growth Stages .................................................... 60 Appendix 2: Additional Contour Plots ........................................................................................... 61 v List of Tables Table 2.1: Longevity of dogbane beetle, C. auratus, on different plant species in 2010 & 2011.. 18 Table 2.2: Defoliation of plant species by dogbane beetle, C. auratus, in no-choice experiments.. .................................................................................................................................. 18 Table 2.3: Effect of dogbane beetle, C. auratus, density on dogbane physical parameters (mean ± SD) in a field cage experiment, Oxford Nova Scotia, 2011, with results of orthogonal contrasts testing for linear and quadratic relationships. ................................................................. 20 Table 2.4: The effect of dogbane beetle, C. auratus, density on dogbane defoliation (range, mean and 95% CI) in a field cage experiment, Oxford Nova Scotia, 2011... ................................ 21 Table 2.5: Reported host plants of C. auratus, C. cobaltinus, and C. asclepiadeus... ................... 23 Table 3.1: Model comparison for adult dogbane beetle (C. auratus) density as predicted by growing degree days at several lowbush blueberry fields in NS. .................................................. 41 Table 3.2: Parameter values and 95% confidence intervals for adult dogbane beetle (C. auratus) population models, as predicted by growing degree days, for several lowbush blueberry fields in NS... ................................................................................................................