Seventeenth Australasian Weeds Conference

A new attempt to introduce the lacy-winged seed Mesoclanis magnipalpis to Australia for biological control of boneseed Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. monilifera

Tom Morley Department of Primary Industries, PO Box 48, Frankston, Victoria 3199, Australia Corresponding author: [email protected]

Summary Mesoclanis magnipalpis Bezzi (lacy- from subsp. pisifera would have a reasonable chance winged seed fly) is a tephritid fly whose larvae live and of establishing on bone seed in Australia. pupate in the flowers and developing fruit of shrubs of A possible explanation for failure of those in- the southern African genus Chrysanthemoides Tourn. troductions is that they represented a biotype of M. ex Medik (Munro 1950, Edwards and Brown 1997). magnipalpis whose life cycle was not synchronised Under glasshouse conditions Adair and Bruzzese with boneseed flowering and that this resulted in (2000) estimated it to have a development time (egg extinction between successive boneseed flowering/ to adult) of 47 (SD = 4.2, n = 2) days. M. magnipalpis fruiting seasons (Morley and Morin 2008). It may be is approved for use in Australia as a biological control that different biotypes of M. magnipalpis exist that agent for Chrysanthemoides monilifera (L.) T.Norl. C. utilise different Chrysanthemoides hosts exclusively monilifera comprises six subspecies (Norlindh 1943) and are incapable of sustaining a population on an of which subsp. monilifera (L.) T.Norl. (boneseed) alternate host. Another possibility for the failures is serious weeds in Australia and subsp. pisifera (L.) could be that the M. magnipalpis relies on multiple T.Norl. is restricted to South Africa. M. magnipalpis Chrysanthemoides entities whose flowering phenolo- utilises both of these as hosts (Edwards and Brown gies are distributed over the seasons in such a way 1997). There is also evidence of a multitude of further that the species can survive by utilising the different undescribed infraspecific Chrysanthemoides entities Chrysanthemoides entities successively. (Barker et al. 2009, Griffioen 1995). One of the ways To address the possibility that previous M. mag- in which Chrysanthemoides infraspecific entities differ nipalpis introductions failed because of biotypism as is in flowering phenology. The boneseed flowering/ speculated above, boneseed fruit harbouring fly larvae fruiting season extends from late winter through to and pupae were collected from around Stellenbosch early summer while that of C. m. subsp. pisifera ex- in South Africa in spring 2009. This material was tends from late autumn through to late winter. incubated in quarantine in Australia and 62 of the From 1998 to 2005 four attempts (Robin Adair un- emergent M. magnipalpis were released (mostly published data, Morley 2005) were made to establish in late October 2009) in accordance with a direct re- M. magnipalpis on boneseed in Australia. These at- lease protocol (approved by the Australian Quarantine tempts were made with M. magnipalpis collected from and Inspection Service) onto 100 flowering potted C. m. subsp. pisifera at De Hoop Nature Reserve and boneseed in a fly-proof field cage at Frankston, Arniston in South Africa. Those introductions failed. Victoria. In November 2009 one M. magnipalpis While M. magnipalpis from those introductions readily maggot was recovered from the cage, indicating the oviposited into boneseed capitula following release in presence of offspring of the imported flies. In January Australia and boneseed sustained development from 2010 emergence of five cage-reared M. magnipalpis egg to adult, M. magnipalpis has not been recovered adults was observed. No signs of M. magnipalpis were except in the boneseed flowering/fruiting season of observed from February to June 2010. release. The reason that those introductions were made Whether this introduction attempt is likely to with collections from C. m. subsp. pisifera instead of succeed will be assessed further by monitoring the boneseed was that M. magnipalpis was much more emergence and oviposition of the caged M. magni- abundant on subsp. pisifera and numbers peaked at palpis through winter 2010. The emergence of adults a time of year (July and August) that enabled large in January 2010 possibly indicates that pupal aestiva- numbers to be imported and released at the start of tion, a behaviour that could sustain M. magnipalpis the boneseed flowering season. It was also thought between boneseed flowering seasons, does not oc- that, because M. magnipalpis utilises boneseed and cur in this species. However, whether the five flies C. m. subsp. pisifera in South Africa, introductions that emerged in January 2010 represented the only

243 Seventeenth Australasian Weeds Conference emergence of M. magnipalpis that will occur in the Edwards, P.B. and Brown, E.M. (1997). Mesoclanis cage or whether they will survive and become active seed flies (Diptera: ) on Chrysanthe- or more will emerge during winter was unknown at moides () in South Africa: distribution, the time writing (June 2010). attack strategy and impact on seed production. KeywordsMesoclanis, Chrysanthemoides. Bulletin of Entomological Research 87, 127-35. Griffioen, R.C. (1995). A taxonomic study of Chry- ACKNOWLEDGMENTS santhemoides Tourn. ex Medik. Compositae. Thanks to Keith Appollis, Abraham Adonis and Tony University of Cape Town. Gordon for assistance to collect and consign boneseed Morley, T. (2005). Lacy-winged seed fly releases for fruit from South Africa in 2009 and to Cape Nature for biological control of boneseed and bitou bush. permission to collect and export this material. This Under Control - Pest and News work was financed by the Australian and Victorian 31, 19-20. Governments. Morley, T.B. and Morin, L. (2008). Progress on boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. REFERENCES monilifera (L.) Norlindh) biological control: the Adair, R.J. and Bruzzese, A. (2000). Evaluation and boneseed leaf buckle mite Aceria (Keifer) sp., host specificity of two seed flies Mesoclanis po- the lacy-winged seed fly Mesoclanis magnipalpis lana and M. magnipalpis (Diptera: Tephritidae) Bezzi and the boneseed rust Endophyllum os- biological control agents for Chrysanthemoides teospermi (Doige) A.R.Wood. Plant Protection monilifera (Asteraceae) in Australia. Bulletin of Quarterly 23, 29-31. Entomological Research 90, 467-74. Munro, H.K. (1950). Trypetid flies (Diptera) associ- Barker, N.P., Howis, S., Nordenstam, B., Kallersjo, ated with the Calendulae, plants of the family M., Eldenas, P., Griffioen, C. et al. (2009). Nuclear Compositae in South Africa. I. A bio-taxonomic and chloroplast DNA-based phylogenies of Chry- study of the genus Mesoclanis. Journal of the En- santhemoides Tourn. ex Medik. (: tomological Society of Southern Africa 13, 37-52. Asteraceae) reveal extensive incongruence and Norlindh, T. (1943). Studies in the Calendulaeae. generic paraphyly, but support the recognition of 1. Monograph of the genera Dimorphotheca, infraspecific taxa in C. monilifera. South African Castalis, Osteospermum, and Chrysan- Journal of Botany 75, 560-72. themoides, pp. 367-423. (C.W.K. Gleerup, Lund).

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