EPA report Import and release of Limenitis glorifica July 2013 Advice to the Decision Making Committee on application APP201710: – To import and release Limenitis glorifica (Honshu white admiral butterfly), as a biocontrol agent for Japanese honeysuckle, under section 34 of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act 1996 www.epa.govt.nz 2 EPA advice APP201710 Executive Summary and Recommendation In May 2013, the Greater Wellington Regional Council made an application to the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) seeking to import and release Limenitis glorifica as a potential biocontrol agent for Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). Host range testing shows that no native, valued and/or taonga plants will be adversely affected by this agent, and we recommend that it be approved for release. June 2013 3 EPA advice APP201710 Table of Contents Executive Summary and Recommendation ........................................................................................ 2 Table of Contents .................................................................................................................................. 3 1. The application process ............................................................................................................. 4 Purpose of this document .............................................................................................................. 4 Submission process ...................................................................................................................... 4 Submissions .................................................................................................................................. 4 Application summary ..................................................................................................................... 5 Background ................................................................................................................................... 5 2. The organism proposed for release .......................................................................................... 6 3. Host-range testing ....................................................................................................................... 7 4. Minimum standards................................................................................................................... 11 5. The ability to establish an undesirable self-sustaining population and the ease of eradication ................................................................................................................................. 14 6. Effects of any inseparable organism....................................................................................... 14 7. Adverse and Positive effects ................................................................................................... 14 References ........................................................................................................................................... 20 Appendix 1 ........................................................................................................................................... 21 Appendix 2 ........................................................................................................................................... 23 Appendix 3 ........................................................................................................................................... 24 . June 2013 4 EPA advice APP201710 1. The application process Purpose of this document 1.1. This document has been prepared by We; Asela Atapattu (Manager, New Organisms), Kate Bromfield (Senior Advisor, New Organisms) and Manu Graham (Senior Advisor, Māori Policy and Operations), to advise the HSNO Decision Making Committee on the results of our risk assessment of an application to import and release Limenitis glorifica or Honshu white admiral butterfly, as a biocontrol agent for Japanese honeysuckle. The document discusses information provided in the application and other readily available sources. Submission process 1.2. The Greater Wellington Regional Council (GWRC) lodged an application with the EPA on 3 May 2013 to import and release Limenitis glorifica under section 34 of the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (HSNO) Act (the Act). 1.3. Application APP201710 was publicly notified as required by section 53(1)(b) of the Act. The 30 working day notification period began on 6 May 2013 and closed on 18 June 2013. 1.4. Submitters were asked to provide information, make comments and raise issues, particularly with regard to, but not limited to the following matters: methodology of the host-range testing; adverse effects1, especially adverse effects not identified in the application, and positive effects2, especially positive effects not identified in the application. Submissions 1.5. Eleven submissions were received during the submission period in response to public notification of the application. Seven submitters; Hawkes Bay Regional Council, Northland Regional Council, Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu, Rob Morton, Bay of Plenty Regional Council, Waikato Regional Council and Thames Coromandel Regional Council supported the application to import and release Limenitis glorifica. Two submitters; Donovan Scientific Insect Research, and Kiwifruit Vine Health neither supported nor opposed the application. Two submitters; Huakina Development Trust and Cliff Mason opposed the application. One late submission, which neither supported nor opposed the application, was received on 8 July 2013, from the Moths and Butterflies of New Zealand Trust 1 Adverse effects can include any risks and costs associated with approving the release of these organisms. 2 Positive effects can include any benefits associated with approving the release of these organisms. June 2013 5 EPA advice APP201710 (MBNZT). Cliff Mason and Jacqui Knight from MBNZT have both expressed an interest in speaking at a hearing. The submissions are summarised in Appendix 1. Submissions from MPI and DOC 1.6. As required by the Act and the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms (Methodology) Order 1998 (the Methodology), the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and the Department of Conservation (DOC) were advised of the application and provided with the opportunity to comment. We gave particular regard to the comments provided by DOC, and these full comments are provided in Appendix 2. MPI provided no comment on the application. Application summary 1.7. GWRC makes this application on behalf of the National Biocontrol Collective, a collective comprising 13 regional councils and the Department of Conservation (DOC). Landcare Research was the science provider for the application, and Richard Hill & Associates prepared the application and managed the application process on behalf of GWRC. 1.8. The application seeks approval to import and release the white admiral butterfly, Limenitis glorifica as a biocontrol agent for Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). 1.9. GWRC consider that they can no longer manage Japanese honeysuckle using conventional means. The number of infested sites is growing, many sites are too remote to be feasibly accessible, and off- target damage to underlying vegetation from the use of herbicides over wide areas is unacceptable. GWRC consider biological control to be an appropriate tactic to use against this weed because biological control agents are self-dispersing and can locate isolated host plants. 1.10. The application presents evidence from field observations in Japan and from laboratory experiments in Japan and New Zealand, indicating that significant adverse effects are unlikely. Background 1.11. The biological control program against Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) aims to limit the shading effects of the weed by reducing its biomass, slowing its vegetative spread, and reducing seed production. Japanese honeysuckle is a perennial vine that spreads by rhizomes, above-ground runners, and sometimes by seeds. It can infest forests but has the most impact on forest margins. It may form a complete blanket over small trees and shrubs in coastal situations, and is increasingly troublesome in shrub land, forest margins and open roadsides. 1.12. Japanese honeysuckle can out-compete many trees and shrubs, and native seedlings are unlikely to establish beneath it. This leads to a simplified vegetation structure with lower local biodiversity (Williams and Timmins 1998). Japanese honeysuckle is distributed from Northland to Stewart Island. June 2013 6 EPA advice APP201710 Williams and Timmins (1998) listed it as “widespread” or “spreading” in all North Island conservancies except Northland but less common in the South Island. While it is present almost throughout New Zealand, it is expanding in many areas, and its full distribution and impact on public conservation land is yet to become apparent. It occurs on public and private land, and is still relatively common as a cultivated plant in older gardens despite its Unwanted Organism status and being listed on the National Pest Plant Accord (NPPA). 1.13. Current management is limited to physical and chemical methods, often in combination. Physical methods involve cutting stems and detaching honeysuckle plants that are smothering native canopy species. This is labor-intensive work, but has the advantage of reducing the need for herbicides and reducing herbicide damage to host trees and shrubs. Cut stems that remain in contact with the ground are then sprayed