Diversity and impact of herbivorous insects on Brazilian peppertree in Florida prior to release of exotic biological control agents

ABSTRACT

Brazilian peppertree, Schinus terebinthifolia Raddi (Anacardiaceae), is a South American plant that is highly invasive in Florida. The impact of insect herbivores on the performance of Brazilian peppertree was evaluated at two locations in Florida using an insecticide exclusion method. Although 38 species of insect herbivores were collected on the invasive tree, there were no differences in growth or reproductive output of insecticide protected and unprotected trees, providing evidence that insect feeding had no measurable impact on tree performance. The majority of insects collected on Brazilian peppertree were generalists, and several were serious agricultural pests.

KEYWORDS:

• Insecticide exclusion
• natural enemies
• weed biological control

Acknowledgements

We thank Elizabeth Calise, Carolina Arguijo, Beth Curry, Patricia Prade and Emily Gaskin for assistance with field sampling, and James Hayden, Susan Halbert, Paul Skelley and Gary Steck for assistance with insect identifications.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

The study was funded in part from grants from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services [grant no. 021008] and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission [grant no. 00097953].