Control Agent Approved For Gum Leaf Skeletoniser

New Biological Control Agent Approved To Control Gum Leaf Skeletoniser

Cotesia urabae female attacking gregarious Uraba lugens larvae. Image courtesy Of Geoff Allen, University of Tasmania

The Environmental Risk Management Authority has approved an application from the New Zealand Forest Research Institute (Scion) to release the parasitic wasp Cotesia urabae to control the gum leaf skeletoniser Uraba lugens in New Zealand.

The gum leaf skeletoniser is an Australian moth that became established in New Zealand around 2001. Its larvae feed on the leaves of eucalypts and several other ornamental species, producing the typical leaf ‘skeleton’.

It is currently found in Auckland, Waikato and Bay of Plenty; however, climate studies suggest that it will spread as far as Southland.

Scion made the application on behalf of the Gum Leaf Skeletoniser Stakeholder Group (part of a Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s (MAF) Sustainable Farming Fund project).

There are almost 25,000 hectares of eucalypt forests in New Zealand. Eucalypts and other ornamentals are also widely used for shade and shelter in public areas.

Eleven submissions were received on the application. Ten submissions supported the application and one submission opposed it.

ERMA New Zealand’s New Organisms General Manager, Dr Libby Harrison, says the decision-making committee hearing the application considered all the potential effects of the parasitic wasp on the environment, human health and safety, the economy, societies and communities and Māori culture and values.

It noted that, unlike the gum leaf skeletoniser, whose larvae can cause skin irritations such as stinging, itching and welts, the wasp has no known effects on human health.

“Overall, the committee decided that the benefits of the release of the wasp outweighed any adverse effects,” Dr Harrison said.

The decision is available on the ERMA New Zealand website, at http://www.ermanz.govt.nz/BertDocs/ERMA200281_ERMA200281%20decision%20FINAL.pdf

ENDS

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