This dissertation has been microfilmed exactly as received PERKINSI Jr' l Benjamin Davidl 1935- STATUS AND RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF INSECTS INTRODUCED TO COMBAT LANTANA. University of Hawaiil Ph.D'1 1966 Agriculture. general University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan STATUS AND RELAr£IVE D.feORTANCE OF INSECTS INTRODUCED TO CO~lliAT L~~T~~A A .DISSERTATION SUBiYIITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL O:l!~ THE UNIVERSITY OF BAlvAII IN PAft'£IAL ]j'UL:E'ILL!V1El'JT OF THE REIi,UIRElvIENTS FO.l.-{ THE DEGREE OF .DOCTOR OF PHILOSO~HY IN El."'Jl'Oii.lOLOGY JANUARY 1966 By Benjamin David Perkins, Jr. Thesis Commi ttee: Henry A. Bess, Chairman John W. Beardsley Hubert W. Frings \Jallace C. IvIi tchell Toshiyuki Nishida TABLE OF CU~TBNT3 ii LI3T OJ? ILLU.:H~Al'IOI{;::j .iii .1 Lantana Introduction and Spread .1 Economic Importance as a ,~eed .2 Historical Account of Control weasures .3 Lantana l!'eeding 3pecies Introduced .6 ~cope of ~resent Study • '7 Acknowledgements .7 ,.•J .0 n l!'i eld ;;itudies .0 Laboratory ;::ltudies 12 • • 13 J.Jescription and .liabits of the Insects 13 ~i eather Condi tions in Sampling ;::li tes • 16 Lantana 3n.;.lplaD • 17 Insect Populations and Correlations 19 .DISCUSSIon • .53 Insect ~opulations and Abiotic Influences .53 Insect ~opulations and Biotic Influences • .-r Lantana and Abiotic Influences )0 ~antana and Biotic Influences 57 Evaluation of Control of Lantana ,;jaseci on ti1.is .::itudy 61.1- ,. A....: ..' .lid .1.JIX • • 68 ii LIST OJ!"' 'fABLES 1. Established species of lantana insects, the year of release in Hawaii, the order and family of the insect, and the area in which each was obtained. •• .. • 2.5 2. Reproductive condition of lantana at 4- sites in the ~Jaianae J.·lountains betw'een .:ieptember, 1963 and June, 1964. ••••••••••••••0•••0• • 26 3. Correlation of population of H. ~tr~~ta in 4 sampling sites \lTith populations of T. scrupu10sa and C. lan­ ~e11a and \lTith abundance of plant material ••••• 27 4. Correlation of population of ~ ?crupu~osa in 4 s~npling sites with populations of ri. striz~~~ and Q~ ~antane11a and with abundance of plant material. • ••••••• 28 5. Correlation of population of h lantanella in 4 sampling sites \lTi th populations of H. strigata and T. scrupulo_sa and with abundance of plant material. ••••• • 29 6. Number of parasites and unattacked hosts and the per cent parasitization in sites f2 and ;4 from November, 1963 to June, 1964. •••••••••••••••••••• 30 7. Number of lantana insects besides three most abundant species in combined samples. ••• 71 3. Number of berries and emerging lantana seed fly, Ophiomyia !.antanae, adults from field collected samples July - September, 1963. ••••••••••• •• 72 9. List of arthropods besides those introduced for lantana control found associated with lantana in 4 sites in the waianae J.>loun tains, Oahu. ..... .. .. 73 iii LI.:iT 0]' .JtIGUrii!:,';) 1. §lower of Lantana camara var. aculeata (L.) cioldenke with visiting honey bee•• . • 31 2. Thick lantana gro,,,th. .. • J2 3. Area of Oahu indicating location of san~linG sites. l'his area is s.l:1o"''1'"l stippled on the inset map of Oahu •• 33 4. £llpen~. :~trigata ..i!'abricius adul t. · J4 5. Last instar larva of 1~pe~. stri~t~ iabrieius fe~ding on leaf of lantana. • 35 6. lJarllage to lantana leaves by f"Iypena:. stJ:'igat~ i!'abr. • 35 7 • Adult ofl'~_+'~~~~ .~~u.J2.l:.!.J:.~~~ ,;jtRI in dorsal view. · 36 8. Adult female of I'~.-!:~?~emi_~. ~erupulos~ ,;jt~h, showing ovipositor and beal..:. ••• • 36 9 • .::lmall nymphs of l'ele~~lia.:. .?eru;eulosa .:itRl feeding on leaf. .. • 37 10 • .ixuvia of last instar nyillph of Tele_~!..emia scrupulosa ,;jtRl, fastened to leaf of lantana. • 37 11. Leafless branches of lantana in site ,fl. • 3d 12. Durning and crinkling of lantana leaves due to attael\: • 3d 13. Adul t and 1?upal case of Crema~t000mb..x.£.ia lantanellCl:. dusek. .. .. · 39 14. Larva of Qremast~~cia lantanel_l~ Dusek feeding inside opened mine on lantana leaf. ••• 40 15. ,;jilken coccoon of C~asto~om~~ia ~~ntanella Busek suspended inside silk-lined leaf mine. • 40 16. ...jarasitic eulophid larva inside 1 eaf mine of iv Cremastobombycia ~antanella Busck after having eaten its host. • . .. .. .. .. ... ·.. 41 17. Eupa of parasitic eulophid inside leaf mine of Cr~astobombl.~j.._~ lantanella Busch:. .... .. •• 41 18. ,L·lonthly rainfall in \~aianae lvIountains April, 1963 through June, 1964, and average weekly rainfall in each of 4 sampling sites bet"'leen December, 1963 and June, 1964. • . .. .. .. • 42 19. Average maximum wind velocity in each of the 4 sampling sites between l'Iovember, 1963 and June, 1964. ••••••• .. ... .. ... ·. 4.3 20. '~ieel'dy maximum and minimum tem1.::>eratures at 3 sampling sites April, 196) through ~~y, 1964. .. .... 44 21. Average nwnber of leaves 1-2.9 em, .3-4.9 em, and .5 em or more in length per stem section of L • .9amar~ var. acul ea..E~ (L.) .'loldenlce in Lj. sampling sites April, 196.3 tl~ough June, 1964. ••• 4.5 22. Average per cent of leaf material missing from lantana leaves 1-2.9 em, .3-4.9 em, and 3cm or more in length April, 196.3 through June, 1964•.• .. 46 2J•.eopulations of ~pena .stri~~. ,ii'abrieius on lantana, April, 196.3 throuGh June, 1961.~, represented by averace numoer of larvae per stem section in each of 4 sampling sites. .. 47 24. .copulations of _._.Teleonerl1ia scruoulosa~_:;:;.:~;c;. .3t~l on lantana, A.::)ril, 1963 thrOUGh June, 1964, represented by average number per stem section in \\Teekly saml::>les from sites v Tfl and ;f2. • •• .48 25. .c'opulations of Tel eonemia ~cru;pnloSG. ;3 dtJ. on Iantana, April, 1963 through June, 1964, represented by average number per stem section in ,,,eekly samples from sites . .. lantana, April, 1963 throUcil1. June, 1964, rei;1resented. by avora~e number per stem section in each of 4 sampling sites. • • .50 27 • .uama~e as nWilber of leaf mines per stefa section in hreekly sa;n';'11es of leaves of lantana in 4 samplin:; sites ~usck. .. .. .51 20. k;o.~ulations 0 I~ eulopi1.id .i.Jarasites of lantana 1 eaf miner, Cremastobombycia lantanella 3USC1( based on averaG'e number {)(~r stela section in eacn of 1.f. samplinG ~? sites, A1Jril, 196) tnrough J'une, 1964•• .~- STATUS ANlJ itELATIVE Ii"l..PORTANCB Oli' INSECTa INTROimC.ci;D '1'0 COJ.·JBAT .LA:fl'Ai.~A Abstract ;:;item sections of the groi"1ing tip of the iveed., Lantana camara var. aculeata (L.) J..iol'denke were taken in four sites in the .'iaianae J.'its., oahu, Hawaii, ten samples per site over a period of 65 ilTeel.:s during 196J and 1964. JJamage by any of the purposely introduced insects for control of this weed was recorded along with species of insects present. Laboratory studies and observations on the three most abundant insects, l'eleonemia scrupulosa .:itQ.l, ,:{Y.eer:!~ ~rigat~ .lfabr., and 'Luere ivere significant positive correlations betiveen the populations of insects and their respective damage and between the insects and the abundance of foliage. There were negative correlations between the leaf miner population and that of' the tingid in site (f2, and negative correlations between the leaf miner damage and the tingid population in sites u=2 and 7{4. luis implies an interaction between these two species of insects. A relationship between the insect populations and the populations followed the change in total foliaGe more closely than did the population of 9. l~n~~~!:~a. J.'lowever, there i'laS 00~ulation an indication that the - - of -C. ------lantanella was related to leaves of a particular quality, the younger leaves, rather than the total foliage present. Abiotic influences caused greater population fluctua­ tions, l1.0\vcver, in site if1 , the abiotic influences "lere lessen­ ed by the surrounding forest, but lantana exhiDited consider- able defoliation here. i'hi s ',lay be accounted fo r by tile hi:::.;'h tin,zid {JoiJulation in this site throughout the sampling i)eriod. in this site abiotic stress though iJossibly less than in the other J,:;,hree sites, ,'las more severe on the ,plant than on the tingicl. lbe strongest biotic influence on the insect popula- tions appeared to be food supply. $our species of eulophid ,:.)arasi tes ,;vere found attacking .G_!_ !.~:Elt~~e:.l.}._?:. larvae. l~Io"l'leVer, the host ?opulation continued to increase in spite of their ~resence in the area. '1'11e 0 ther hlO lantana feeding Sl) ecies in question here seemed to have no parasites or predators of consequence. The ino st effective of the three insects "lvas probably :~.~:.~.5)J~,~~~l:...:i:..a.-~, since it reached relatively high numbers in the field, and since its population was related to the abundance of folia~'e. in certain environments, such as a forest site, it can heavily defoliate lantana and possibly prevent flower- ing. ~l?_~:!.~ may have been of less importance in tnis stUdy due to its lO"lv numbers; Q~~!~stoboi~~-?_:i;.a.:.may be of least im:po l'tan ce since it probably causes littl e ma terial damage to the plant, even though its popUlation may be increasing. 1 IN'I'RODUCTIOI~ Lantana Introduction and Spread Lantana camara var. aculeata (L.) Moldenke is a shrub of the family Verbenaceae. The stem is quadrangular in cross-section and bears thorns. lbe leaves are heart-shaped to oval with toothed edges, the teeth being bluntly rounded. Flowers (fig. 1) are in a pink, yellow, or lavender cluster borne on a stalk. This plant i~ found in almost all the major tropical and sUbtropical areas of the world, including, Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, India, Fiji, ~utcn Bast Indies, ~~dagascar and much of Africa, as well as its area of origin, tropical America (Mexico, Costa Rica, Cuba, Jamaica, Florida, California, and other areas) (Cleland, 1952; ~resner, 1958; Kenoyer, 1927; ~immonds, 1931; Atkinson, 1920; La Bathie, 1928; ~oidge, 1926; Sanders, 1946; .l:'eridns and S.vezey, 1924; il.:rauss, 1953; Ohmann, 1934).