Phytophagous arthropods associated with Solanum mauritianum Scopoli (Solanaceae) in the first Plateau of Paraná, Brazil: a cooperative project on biological control of weeds between Brazil and South Africa

Abstract

Solanum mauritianum Scopoli (bugweed), native to southern Brazil, is a major weed inSouth Africa where it has been targeted for biological control. In 1998, a cooperative project involvingBrazilian and South African scientists was initiated to develop cooperative biological control studiesinvolving native Brazilian plants that are invasive in South Africa. Surveys for natural enemies werecarried out in the First Plateau of Paraná, where the plant is particularly abundant and where theclimatic conditions are similar to high altitude areas in South Africa that are invaded by S. mauritianum. Populations of S. mauritianum supported a diverse herbivore fauna, which included at least 34 insectspecies and one mite species. Five species with high biological control potential were collected: twoflower-feeding, two leaf-feeding and one stem-boring species. Three of these species have been studiedin quarantine in South Africa, one of which has already been released for the biological control of S.mauritianum, while a fourth species, Anthonomus morticinus Clark (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), wasstudied in the field in Brazil.