Agonopterix

Abstract: The larvae of Agonopterix ulicetella (Stainton) (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae) feed on the green foliage of gorse, Ulex europaeus L., and this insect is a potential biological control agent of this weed in New Zealand. The biology of the insect is described and its known parasitoids are listed. In experiments to measure oviposition preference, 46 plant species from 11 families were exposed to adult moths. Gorse was highly preferred over other plants, and there was no oviposition on 33 species tested. Eggs were found on Spartium junceum, Chamaecytisus palmensis, Lupinus arboreus, L. polyphyllus, Genista tinctoria and occasionally on eight other species. In experiments to measure the ability of first instar larvae to feed on 70 test plant species, 59 did not support development beyond the first instar and only seven species supported development to the pupal stage. These results show that under laboratory conditions this moth can lay its eggs and complete development on five members of the tribe Genisteae othe...

Abstract: Although a considerable amount of ecological information is known about interactions between Depressaria species and their apiaceous/asteraceous host plants, this information has lacked a phylogenetic context; such a context is important in understanding the evolutionary history and phylogenetic trajectory of plant/insect interactions in general. Accordingly, we undertook an examination of the generic phylogeny of North American Depressariinae, using morphological characters of the larvae, pupae, and adults. Two different parsimony analyses yielded the same tree topology, with a consistency index over 88 and retention index between 90 and 91. This tree provided no evidence of congruent cladogenesis in this group. Host shifts between unrelated host plant families, particularly reversions to ancestral host plant groups, are abundant. Association with plants in Apiaceae and Asteraceae has apparently led to rapid speciation; the two most species-rich taxa, Depressaria Haworth and Agonopterix HA¼bner, are dominated by species that feed on these families. Because Agonopterix and Depressaria are not sister groups, the Apiaceae must have been colonized independently at least twice by Depressariinae. The best explanation for the pattern of host association seen for genera of depressariine elachistids is that of sequential colonization of related plant groups. This finding is consistent with other findings to date—that congruent cladogenesis is a phenomenon most likely to occur within genera, not at the family or subfamily level

Abstract: No easy and reliable method of detecting the establishment of the recently-released gorse soft shoot moth (Agonopterix ulicetella) was available, so we undertook to identify an attractant. Pheromone sticky traps were baited with a wide range of lures based on sex attractants known from other species in the genus and trapping was conducted in Hawaii. Several blends with compounds in common were successful at catching moths. The most attractive blends were then used to determine whether the release of this biocontrol agent had been successful in New Zealand. Ten moths were caught at a site in Canterbury in September 1999 with Z5-decenyl acetate and Z7-dodecenyl alcohol (1:1). This is the first time that sex attractants have been used to demonstrate the successful establishment of a biological control agent within a country. Further tests in Hawaii have confirmed the above blend as highly attractive. It is now available and suitable for monitoring the establishment and spread of this biocontrol agent elsewhere in New