The 2005 ESA Annual Meeting and Exhibition
December 15-18, 2005
Ft. Lauderdale, FL

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Saturday, December 17, 2005
D0319

Too little and too late???? Rhyzobius lophanthae introduced against Asian cycad scale, Aulacaspis yasumatsui, on Guam

Ross H. Miller, rmiller@uog.edu1, Aubrey Moore, amoore@guam.uog.edu1, Rangaswamy N. Muniappan, rmuni@uog9.uog.edu1, Anne P. Brooke, brookea@guam.navy.mil2, and Thomas E. Marler, tmarler@uog9.uog.edu1. (1) University of Guam, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Agricultural Experiment Station, Mangilao, Guam, (2) Guam National Wildlife Refuge, POB 8134, MOU-3, Dededo, Guam

Asian cycad scale, Aulacaspis yasumatsui, was first detected in Tumon, Guam in December 2003 in front of a hotel where Cycas revoluta, an introduced ornamental cycad and Cycas micronesica, an indigenous cycad were planted. The scale is believed to have been imported from Hawaii in 1998 on ornamental C. revoluta. The scale currently infests introduced and indigenous cycads on about two thirds of Guam’s 354 square kilometers. Severe infestations have been observed to kill both species within a few months. We fear that C. micronesica may be threatened with extinction should the scale spread to the few other Micronesian islands that harbor it. Rhyzobius lophanthae, a coccinellid introduced to Hawaii in 1894 against other scale insects, was imported from Maui to Guam in November 2004 and released on C. micronesica at the Guam National Wildlife Refuge at Ritidian point in February 2005. R. lophanthae populations have subsequently spread to other C. micronesica, and additional releases have been made throughout the island. However, R. lophanthae alone will is unlikely to contain the infestation. Efforts are underway to import Coccobius fulvus, a hymenopteran parasitoid originating in Thailand and China, from Florida. Funds are also being sought for exploration for additional biocontrol agents in Asia. IPM strategies, primarily targeting ornamental cycads, are being developed that employ systemic insecticides applied to severaly pruned cycad boles.


Species 1: Hemiptera Diaspididae Aulacaspis yasumatsui (Asian cycad scale)
Species 2: Coleoptera Coccinellidae Rhyzobius lophanthae
Species 3: Cycadales Cycadaceae Cycas micronesica (sago palm, fadang)
Keywords: Micronesia, extinction

Poster (.pdf format, 780.0 kb)