ARS | Publication request: Proposed Field Release of the Australian Floracarus Perrepae Knihinicki & Boczek (Acariformes: Eriophyidae)a Leaf Roll Galler of the Old World Climbing Fern (Lygodium Microphyllum) in Florida.

Submitted to: Germplasm Release
Publication Type: Germplasm Release
Publication Acceptance Date: May 20, 2004
Publication Date: December 20, 2004
Citation: Goolsby, J., Pemberton, R.W. 2004 Proposed field release of the australian floracarus perrepae knihinicki & boczek (acariformes: eriophyidae)a leaf roll galler of the old world climbing fern (lygodium microphyllum) in florida.. Germplasm Release. On file at the US Dept of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service Biological Control Documentation Center, National Agricultural Library, Beltsville, MD USA

Interpretive Summary: Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum) is among the most serious invasive weeds of natural areas in Florida. Because of the severity of the problem and the limitations of existing control measures, a biological control project was begun in 1998. Surveys in Australia and Southeast Asia led to the discovery of an eriophyid gall mite, Floracarus perrepae. This microscopic mite rolls the margins of the fern leaflets, which reduces the longevity of these leaves and the grow rate of the attacked vines. Host plant specificity testing demonstrated that the mite is an extreme host specialist able to use only able to fully use L. microphyllum as a host plant. The finding that the mite's potential host range, if introduced to the US would be limited to the target weed, enabled a release petition to be written. This petition, which is a request field release in Florida (the first in the US), summarizes a wide array of research and information on mite including its biology and ecology as well as its safety and potential utility as a control agent. The petition was submitted to the USDA-APHIS Technical Advisory Group for Biological Control of Weeds for interagency scientific review.

Technical Abstract: Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum) is among the most serious invasive weeds of natural areas in Florida. Because of the severity of the problem and the limitations of existing control measures, a biological control project was begun in 1998. Surveys in Australia and Southeast Asia led to the discovery of an eriophyid gall mite, Floracarus perrepae. This microscopic mite rolls the margins of the fern leaflets, which reduces the longevity of these leaves and the grow rate of the attacked vines. Host plant specificity testing demonstrated that the mite is an extreme host specialist able to use only able to fully use L. microphyllum as a host plant. The finding that the mite's potential host range, if introduced to the US would be limited to the target weed, enabled a release petition to be written. This petition, which is a request field release in Florida (the first in the US), summarizes a wide array of research and information on mite including its biology and ecology as well as its safety and potential utility as a control agent. The petition was submitted to the USDA-APHIS Technical Advisory Group for Biological Control of Weeds for interagency scientific review.