Life cycle and biological control of the <i>Eucalyptus</i> snout beetle (Coleoptera, Curculionidae) by <i>Anaphes nitens</i> (Hymenoptera, Mymaridae) in north‐west Spain

Abstract

Summary 1 Gonipterus scutellatus is a weevil that has become a pest in most Eucalyptus plantations in Africa, America and Europe. The egg parasitoid Anaphes nitens has been introduced into many countries as a biological control agent. Even if control has been successful in most countries no detailed study of the interactions between both species has been published. 2 Gonipterus scutellatus was detected in 1991 in north‐west Spain and A. nitens was introduced in early 1994. Here we report on the results of a 2‐year study of parasitism in a field plot and a survey of 16 localities in North‐west Spain. In 1996, parasitism was so intense (80–100% of eggs) that G. scutellatus became locally extinct, and as a consequence A. nitens disappeared. In 1997, G. scutellatus recolonized the area and was followed by its parasitoid, but parasitism was low in spring, probably because the parasitoid population needed 3 weeks to achieve a similar size as in 1996. Consequently, damage to the trees was extreme in 1997. We interpret these results as population fluctuations due to parasitoid–host interactions and suggest that parasitoids should not to be so effective as to locally extinguish their host to be useful for biological control. 3 The analysis of parasitism level in 16 localities indicates that A. nitens is highly efficient in finding G. scutellatus egg‐masses. At a small spatial scale (single trees) positive density dependence was detected where parasitism was low and inverse density dependence where parasitism was high.