Project summary of biocontrol agent Eueupithecia cisplatensis for Parkinsonia aculeata in Queensland by Queensland DAF

Abstract

The leaf-feeding looper, Eueupithecia cisplatensis Prout (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) commonly referred to as UU, is a biological control agent for the invasive Weed of National Significance, Parkinsonia aculeata L. (parkinsonia). With funding support from Meat and Livestock Australia (MLA), UU was imported from Argentina to Brisbane by Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in 2010. Mass-rearing commenced in 2013 at the Queensland Government’s Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Qld DAF) Tropical Weeds Research Centre (TWRC) in Charters Towers. Field releases of UU have occurred at 105 sites throughout Queensland, with establishment observed at 50% of monitored sites in central Queensland and 75.5% in North Queensland.