Survival of the mirid Eccritotarsus catarinensis as influenced by Neochetina eichhorniae and Neochetina bruchi feeding scars on leaves of water hyacinth Eichhornia crassipes

摘要

Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms-Laub.) remains a problem waterweed worldwide, for which biological control offers a sustainable solution. Under laboratory conditions, we investigated the interaction between two established weevil species Neochetina eichhorniae (Warner), Neochetina bruchi Hustache and the mirid Eccritotarsus catarinensis (Carvalho) which have been released together in several countries. Adult and immatures of E. catarinensis had high mortality on plants with high levels of old feeding scars from adult N. eichhorniae and N. bruchi and was significantly different at p < 0.05. In contrast, mirid survived well on plants with recent feeding scars from Neochetina spp. or on undamaged plants. Our results indicate that the mirid is compatible with the two weevil species for improving biological control of the weed.