Application to release Stomphastis sp. nov., an agent for the biological control of Jatropha gossypiifolia in Australia

Abstract

Jatropha gossypiifolia (Euphorbiaceae), commonly known as bellyache bush, is a serious weed of rangelands and riparian zones of northern Australia, and it has the potential to invade much of northern Australia. Biological control is an important component of the long-term management strategy for J. gossypiifolia in Australia. Biological control of bellyache bush was initiated in 1999. Since then, only one agent, the jewel bug, Agonosoma trilineatum has been released and there is no evidence of its establishment. A renewed biological control effort, involving exploration in South America identified a number of potential biological control agents, the most promising of which, a small leaf-mining moth Stomphastis sp. nova (Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae), was imported from Peru into quarantine in 2014 for further research.