Biocontrol introduction

Target pest: Buddleja davidii (Lamiales: Scrophulariaceae), butterfly bush, buddleia

Agent introduced: Cleopus japonicus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

General comments:

A species of Cleopus, at the time identified as C. japonicus, was released in New Zealand in 2006 against Buddleja davidii. However, a recent taxonomic revision of the genus Cleopus (Košťál & Caldara 2024) has revealed that the species released in New Zealand as a biocontrol agent for Buddleja davidii was misidentified at the time as C. japonicus and is, in fact, a previously undescribed species, which Košťál and Caldara describe and name as C. confusus. Košťál & Caldara (2024) found C. confusus, which they note has for a long time been confused with C. japonicus, present in Hunan Province, where the weevils were collected to start the colony that were ultimately released into New Zealand. The true C. japonicus was not found in Hunan Province.

See the Cleopus confusus introduction record for details of this biocontrol programme.

References

Košťál M, Caldara R (2024). A taxonomic revision of the genus Cleopus Dejean, 1821 (Coleoptera, Curculionidae), with descriptions of 13 new species. Insects 15(6), 434 https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15060434