Failure of Eccritotarsus catarinensis, a biological control agent of waterhyacinth, to persist on pickerelweed, a non-target host in South Africa, after forced establishment

Waterhyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is the most damaging aquatic weed in South Africa, where five arthropod biological control agents have been released to date. The most recent introduction, a South American mirid, Eccritotarsus catarinensis, was shown to utilize Pontederia cordata (pickerelweed) during laboratory host-specificity trials. This did not influence the decision to release the mirid in South Africa, where the exotic pickerelweed is a declared invader. However, in the United States of America where waterhyacinth is also a problem, the possibility of spillover damage on indigenous pickerelweed may preclude the release of the mirid. In this study, E catarinensis did not establish on pickerelweed in the field in South Africa, following either confined releases, where the mirids were initially released into sleeve cages, or unconfined releases where mirid-infested pickerelweed plants were placed amongst pickerelweed stands. We thus recommend that E catarinensis be considered as an additional control agent of waterhyacinth in North America. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.