Plume moth (Pterophoridae, Platyptilia) parasitism of Lantana species on the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador

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Erika Bolliger, Biology, University of Toronto St. George, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Toronto, ON, Canada, Hugo Valdebenito, QUSF Herbarium, Galapagos Science Center UNC –USFQ, San Cristobal, Galapagos, Ecuador.; Biology / QUSF Herbarium, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Quito, Ecuador, Monika Havelka, Geography, University of Toronto, Mississauga, ON, Canada and Christoph Richter, Biology, University of Toronto, Mississauga, ON, Canada

Background/Question/Methods
Invasive alien species are one of the greatest threats to island biodiversity. Biological control of invasive plants, such as the use of Lantanophaga pusillidactyla to depress seed development of the invasive Lantana camara, have been employed on islands such as Hawaii. It has been suggested that L. pusillidactyla may be able to address the L. camara invasion in the Galápagos Islands. We examined the relationship between L. pusillidactyla and the invasive L. camara and its endemic congener Lantana peduncularis.
Results/Conclusions
We found no interaction between L. pusillidactyla and L. camara. We describe a novel interaction between L. pusillidactyla and L. peduncularis in which the larvae develop in the receptacle of the inflorescences. This interaction appears to have depressed seed production, although the results were not significant (P > 0.05). We suggest that the use of L. pusillidactyla as biological control of L. camara will likely be ineffective and may negatively impact the endemic L. peduncularis.