The leaf beetle Diorhabda elongata deserticola from Fukang, China and Chilik, Kazakhstan has been released and is established in the United States for the biological control of saltcedar (Tamarix spp.). However, it has not established south of 38°N latitude because day lengths are less than 14 hr 45 min, which results in the released population of beetles entering diapause early in the summer. Presumably these beetles deplete their fat body reserves and starve before the following spring. Beetles from other populations and subspecies have shorter critical photoperiods for diapause induction and therefore should more readily establish at more southern latitudes. However, these beetles also may differ in their host range. Therefore, we evaluated the host-specificity of D. elongata collected from different areas across its distribution.
Species 1: Coleoptera Chrysomelidae Diorhabda elongata
Species 2: Tamaricales Tamaricaceae Tamarix spp (saltcedar)
Keywords: biological control, weeds
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