The extinction of two Fijian Zygaenidae by Biocontrol.
Feb 8, 2015 2:13:31 GMT -8
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Post by nomad on Feb 8, 2015 2:13:31 GMT -8
The extinction of two species of Fijian Zygaenidae by Biocontrol.
Two small species of Zygaenidae endemics, the serious pest Levuana iridescens and the harmless Heteropan dolens were eradicated by professional entomologists using biocontrol. Coconut Plantations were the main economy of the native peoples of the Fijian Islands in the late 1800s to early 1900s. From around 1877, coconut plantations on Viti Levu were severely affected by Levuana iridescens (Bethune Baker), a small purple moth,whose larvae trenched the underside of the leaves and the Palms died. Chemical spraying failed. In 1925 entomologists imported and released a parasitic fly- Bessa remota ( Aldrich) on the island Viti Levu. This provided immediate control of the moth, eventually leading to its extinction on that Island. L. iridescens has not be seen since the 1950s. The parasitic flies also preyed upon the larvae of the pretty and harmless Fiji Viti Levu endemic, Heteropan dolens and is now thought to be extinct. Repeated searches over many years have failed to find any extant population. Howarth wrote that H. dolens was extinct by 1929.
The only specimen of Heteropan dolens in the collections of the O.U.M.N.H.
Heteropan dolens. Painting from Herbert Druce, ' List of Lepidoptera - Herocera collected by Mr. C.M. Woodford at Suva, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands, with the ' Descriptions of some new species. 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 219-231. 1888.
Levuana iridescens.
Two small species of Zygaenidae endemics, the serious pest Levuana iridescens and the harmless Heteropan dolens were eradicated by professional entomologists using biocontrol. Coconut Plantations were the main economy of the native peoples of the Fijian Islands in the late 1800s to early 1900s. From around 1877, coconut plantations on Viti Levu were severely affected by Levuana iridescens (Bethune Baker), a small purple moth,whose larvae trenched the underside of the leaves and the Palms died. Chemical spraying failed. In 1925 entomologists imported and released a parasitic fly- Bessa remota ( Aldrich) on the island Viti Levu. This provided immediate control of the moth, eventually leading to its extinction on that Island. L. iridescens has not be seen since the 1950s. The parasitic flies also preyed upon the larvae of the pretty and harmless Fiji Viti Levu endemic, Heteropan dolens and is now thought to be extinct. Repeated searches over many years have failed to find any extant population. Howarth wrote that H. dolens was extinct by 1929.
The only specimen of Heteropan dolens in the collections of the O.U.M.N.H.
Heteropan dolens. Painting from Herbert Druce, ' List of Lepidoptera - Herocera collected by Mr. C.M. Woodford at Suva, Viti Levu, Fiji Islands, with the ' Descriptions of some new species. 'Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 219-231. 1888.
Levuana iridescens.
