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Chinese tallowtree, Triadica sebifera (L.) Small (Euphorbiaceae), is one of the worst invasive weeds of the southeastern USA impacting coastal wetlands, forests, and natural areas. A proposed biological control candidate, the defoliating moth Gadirtha fusca Pogue (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) shows high specificity for the target weed Chinese tallowtree. A total of 13 field sites were sampled in the native range of this herbivore species. To determine if all individuals were the same taxon, molecular DNA analyses were conducted of these collections. These included collections from 2012, 2015 and 2016, from three regions and two adult color morphs. Molecular COI analysis was performed on thirty colonized individuals from these collections. The results of this analysis arranged all taxa into a single clade with average genetic divergence values of 0.3%. Comparison of these G. fusca sequences and those from other Gadirtha spp. all had divergence values that were equal to or exceeded 5%. These results indicate that all the G. fusca collections were a single species and they were distinct from other known members of this genus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Host range of larvae ofHymenomimanr.memor(Lepidoptera: Geometridae) was examined in quarantine to evaluate its suitability as a biological control of Brazilian peppertree,Schinus terebinthifolia. Brazilian peppertree,S. terebinthifoliais an environmental and agricultural weed from South America that had invaded many subtropical and tropical areas of the world including Florida and Hawaii, USA. Laboratory life history and quarantine host range studies ofH.memorwere conducted with no-choice feeding tests. These tests included eight species of the Anacardiaceae and one species of Sapindaceae. Larvae ofH. memorhad five to six instars with each head capsule width increasing by 1.68-X. Development time from neonate to adult was 46.7 ± 2.2 days. In host range tests, neonates completed development to the adult stage on all non-target species, exceptToxicodendron radicans. Moreover, developmental times were delayed and pupal weights were reduced for larvae fedSpondias purpurealeaves. Due to the broad host range exhibited byH. memorlarvae, this species will not be considered as a biological control agent ofS. terebinthifoliain the continental U.S.A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]