Status and natural enemies of the weed,<i>Lantana camara</i>in Micronesia

Abstract

Abstract The neotropical weed Lantana camara was first introduced to Micronesia as an ornamental plant around the turn of the century. It quickly established and, within the space of few decades, became a problem on many of the islands there. The first attempts at biological control of lantana in this region started shortly after World War II and continued, largely on a somewhat sporadic and haphazard basis, up to recent times. However, information on the natural enemies introduced, their establishment and effectiveness, is limited and in some cases contradictory. For this reason, surveys were conducted on the major islands within the Caroline and Mariana island groups to determine the status and natural insect enemies of L. camara. The surveys revealed that seven of the 13 species of exotic insects introduced into the area had established and achieved an acceptable level of control in the majority of cases examined. However, not all species were represented on all islands visited and, typically, some species were more effective than others. Also, the effectiveness of certain species varied between islands and between different coloured varieties of lantana. Keywords: Lantana camarabiological controlphytophagous insectsGuam