Changes in latitude: overwintering survival of two Lilioceris cheni (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) biotypes in Florida

ABSTRACT

Lilioceris cheni is a successful biological control agent on the invasive yam, Dioscorea bulbifera in many areas in Florida, Georgia, Alabama and Louisiana. Two biotypes are available for release and come from significantly different centres of origin. The Nepalese biotype was collected at higher altitude and latitude sites, whereas the Chinese biotype was collected at slightly lower latitude and lower altitude. We hypothesised that Nepalese beetles would survive winter better in north Florida and that Chinese beetles would overwinter better in subtropical south Florida. We established sites in Homestead, Fort Pierce, Gainesville and Tallahassee, Florida to gauge the overwintering survival of each biotype. Beetles that overwintered in each site for one to three seasons were collected and followed to assess their reproductive capacity. In the final year of the experiment, we extracted fat bodies to determine effects of biotype and site. Nepalese beetles overwintered significantly better overall. Beetles survived better in the first study year (2013–2014). Both biotypes reproduced very well after surviving winter and beetles in Fort Pierce survived better than beetles in other regions and maintained a higher fat body. Nepalese beetles may have a wider ecological envelope – a decided advantage for a large region such as peninsular Florida. We suggest that current release programmes incorporate Nepalese beetles into their protocol to increase overwinter survival and establishment.

KEYWORDS:

• Classical biological control
• air potato
• chrysomelidae
• dioscoreaceae
• overwintering survival

Acknowledgements

Several technicians (Tracey Wasylik, Alvin Puzio, Gloria Witkus, Alexander Trethewy, Elizabeth Calise, Bernardette Stange, Carolina M. Arguijo) were involved in constructing and maintaining the field sites, and rearing beetles and plants. We greatly wish to thank the University of Florida Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC) for the use of the land on which the Homestead site resided. We also would like to thank Dr Min Rayamahji for supplementing beetles where needed. F. Allen Dray, Jr. provided information regarding collection sites for Chinese beetles. Trade names or commercial products in this publication have been mentioned solely for the purpose of providing specific information and it does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the USDA. USDA is an equal-opportunity employer and provider.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was funded by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the University Florida and the South Florida Water Management District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP).