Biocontrol introduction
Target pest: Araujia hortorum (Gentianales: Apocynaceae) = Araujia sericifera?, moth plant
Agent introduced: Freudeita cupripennis (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), moth plant beetle
Imported:
2010, 2018
Import source:
Near Buenos Aires, Argentina (2010); Melilla, Uruguay (2018)
Import notes:
Landcare Research (2014a) - still waiting for export permit to be granted by Argentina to import beetles for release.
Landcare Research (2015i, 2017g) - still waiting for export permit from Argentina to import beetles for release.
McGrath et al. (2018) - beetles [as Colaspis argentinensis - see McGrath et al. (2018) and Leschen (2018) entries in 'General comments' section below] were imported in 2010 from near Buenos Aires, Argentina for host range testing. In 2011 EPA gave approval to release these beetles; the approval could not be exercised within the statutory 5‐year period and lapsed in 2016. Beetles [as Freudeita cf. cupripennis - see McGrath et al. (2018) and Leschen (2018) entries in 'General comments' section below] were subsequently imported from Melilla, Uruguay in 2018 for host range testing; pending EPA approval, any beetles released in New Zealand will be descendants of these beetles.
Paynter et al. (2025) - an Argentinian population of F. cupripennis (misidentified as Colaspis argentinensis) underwent specificity testing in New Zealand in 2010 [see McGrath (2018) entry above in this section] and was approved for release in 2011 [see EPA (2011a) entry in ‘EPA applications’ section below]. However, a culture of this population had not been maintained in New Zealand following completion of specificity testing and subsequent attempts to obtain Argentine export permits to allow additional importations of beetles were unsuccessful, due to issues associated with the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which, with the associated development of Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) legislation has created barriers to collection and export of natural enemies for biocontrol research in some countries. In 2018, a population of F. cupripennis was imported from Uruguay, where ABS legislation has not proven to be a barrier to conducting biocontrol research. Following host specificity testing and EPA approval [see EPA (2019b) entry in ‘EPA applications’ section below] releases from this population began in 2019, and despite mass-rearing subsequently being disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, further releases carried out in several regions of the North Island [see ‘Release details’ section below].
Released:
2019
Release details:
Landcare Research (2014a) - earliest that releases could be made will be spring 2015 as still waiting for export permit to be granted by Argentina.
Landcare Research (2015i, 2017g) - still no releases as still waiting for Argentina to grant an export permit.
McGrath et al. (2018) - the 2011 EPA approval for release expired in 2016. Beetles were subsequently imported from Uruguay in 2018 for host range testing; pending EPA approval, any beetles released in New Zealand will be descendants of these beetles.
Landcare Research (2019g) - it is anticipated the first releases will be made in spring this year.
Landcare Research (2020a) - releases of 150 adults at each of two sites in the North Island: on 13 Dec 2019 at Matapihi, near Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, and on 18 Dec 2019 in the Awanui area near Sweetwater Lake in Northland. Further releases are planned for the 2019-20 summer, before the beetles enter diapause.
Landcare Research (2020h) - four releases made in the year Sep 2019 - Aug 2020.
Landcare Research (2020j) - released in February this year [2020] in the Waikato, North lsland region.
Landcare Research (2021e, 2022h, 2023f, 2024f, 2025f) - 10 releases made in the year Sep 2020 - Aug 2021, three in the year Sep 2021 - Aug 2022, seven in the year Sep 2022 - Aug 2023, five in the year Sep 2023 - Aug 2024, four in the year Sep 2024 - Aug 2025.
Establishment:
Landcare Research (2020g) - establishment success unknown [as of August 2020].
Landcare Research (2020j) - Freudeita cupripennis is performing well with recent reports of the recovery of adult beetles at the original release sites. This means the beetles successfully completed at least two generations in the field and survived their first winter.
Landcare Research (2022g) - it is believed F. cupripennis has established in the Bay of Plenty and the Waikato, but it may still be at low densities due to a limited number of releases so far.
Landcare Research (2022k) - Freudeita cupripennis has established in Northland and possibly in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato but it may still be at low densities due to a limited number of releases so far.
Landcare Research (2023e) - Freudeita cupripennis has established in the Bay of Plenty and Waikato.
Landcare Research (2024h) - Freudeita cupripennis has established in the Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Northland.
Landcare Research (2025e) - Freudeita cupripennis has established in Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Waikato, and Northland.
Paynter et al. (2025) - releases have been made in several districts of the North Island (Auckland, Bay of Plenty, Northland, and the Waikato), and beetles were observed at early release localities in all these regions in 2024, indicating that several populations have persisted over four winters and appear to be well established.
Impacts on non-targets:
Waikato Regional Council (2018) - host range testing was carried out [using moth plant beetles imported from Argentina, misidentified at the time as Colaspis argentinensis - see McGrath et al. (2018) and Leschen (2018) entries in 'General comments' section below] against 10 plant species (including the target species, A. hortorum) present in New Zealand and in the same family (Apocynaceae) as A. hortorum. [See Paynter et al. (2025) entry in 'General comments' section below regarding the taxonomic nomenclature of moth plant.] There are only three native species in the family Apocynaceae and these are only distantly related to moth plant; one, Parsonia heterophylla, was chosen to represent the native species in the tests. Moth plant beetle larvae only developed fully on A. hortorum and the ornamental plant tweedia (Oxypetalum caeruleum), the only two species tested in the subtribe Oxypetalinae. It is concluded that moth plant beetle has a narrow host range, restricted to species within this subtribe, and that tweedia is the only non-target plant that could be significantly attacked if the beetle is released in New Zealand.
McGrath et al. (2018), Hill (2018b), Paynter et al. (2025) - Freudeita cupripennis has not been observed or recorded attacking species other than moth plant in Argentina. New Zealand has only three native plant species (all in the genus Parsonia) in the same family (Apocynaceae) as moth plant, and these are in a different sub-family. Laboratory host range testing in 2018 in quarantine in New Zealand with beetles from Melilla, Uruguay (the source of all beetles that will be released in New Zealand) against 10 non-target plant species in the family Apocynaceae, including two species of Parsonia, suggested that tweedia (Oxypetalum caeruleum) may be a fundamental host for F. cupripennis and may be a field host for the beetle in New Zealand. There was no significant feeding on other test plant species in the trials. Tweedia, a minor ornamental plant in New Zealand, is the only plant in New Zealand in the same sub-tribe (Oxypetalinae) as moth plant. Other field hosts are unlikely and the risk to native Parsonia species is considered negligible.
Paynter et al. (2025) - host range testing for F. cupripennis was carried out initially in 2010 using a population of the beetle from Buenos Aires Province, Argentina (initially misidentified as Colaspis argentinensis [see Waikato Regional Council (2018) entry above in this section] and subsequently in 2018 using beetles from the Melilla area, northwest of Montevideo, Uruguay [see McGrath et al. (2018), Hill (2018), Paynter et al. (2025) entry above in this section]. Both produced comparable results, but only the Uruguayan population was released in New Zealand [see McGrath et al. (2018) and Paynter et al. (2025) entries in ‘Import notes’ section above].
General comments:
McGrath et al. (2018) - the 2011 EPA approval could not be exercised within the statutory 5 year period and lapsed in 2016. Landcare Research taxonomist Dr R. Leschen subsequently examined specimens imported from Argentina and determined that the beetle approved for release in 2011 was mistakenly identified at the time as Colaspis argentinensis and should be referred to as Freudeita cf. cupripennis. In this case F. cf. cupripennis indicates that the population of beetles belongs to the genus Freudeita, and is believed to be F. cupripennis, but definitive identification requires additional confirmation.
Leschen (2018) - the taxonomic name of the moth plant beetle requires confirmation. The original name applied to specimens collected in Argentina and imported to New Zealand, Colaspis argentinensis, is rejected as it did not match specimens sent to the New Zealand Arthropod Collection for confirmation of this identification. Specimens collected in Argentina [in 2010] and Uruguay [in 2018] and imported to New Zealand have been compared against identified and type material of Freudeita. It is recommended the Uruguayan series [from which all releases will be made] should be referred to as Freudeita cupripennis, which is the oldest name in the Freudeita cupripennis complex (F. cupripennis and F. cuprinula), although there is still some uncertainty around its identity because the type specimens of F. cupripennis could not be examined. Additionally, it is uncertain whether the nominal species and subspecies of the Freudeita cupripennis complex represent one highly variable species or are in fact distinct. [If they are later determined to be all one species, the name will be Freudeita cupripennis, the oldest available name in the cupripennis complex.]
Paynter et al. (2025) - most countries with invasive moth plant populations follow Forster and Bruyns (1992), who considered Araujia hortorum Fourn. to be synonymous with A. sericifera. Nevertheless, there are consistent differences between the two taxa, suggesting that A. hortorum and A. sericifera are either two separate species, as was proposed by Meyer (1944), or two sub-specific entities within the same species. In New Zealand, moth plant is currently referred to as A. hortorum although the Landcare Research New Zealand Plants website states that “A. sericifera and A. hortorum are very closely related entities and probably do not deserve recognition at the species level”. Nevertheless, it notes that “specimens from Australia and New Zealand and those conserved in the main herbaria of Argentina and Uruguay clearly belong to the taxon here considered as A. hortorum Fourn.”
EPA Applications:
EPA (2011a) - 19 Jan 2011: application by the Waikato Regional Council to import and release Colaspis argentinensis [this was subsequently determined to be a misidentification - see McGrath et al. (2018) and Leschen (2018) entries in 'General comments' section above] for use as a biological control for the weed moth plant (Araujia hortorum). EPA Application # APP201039, approved without controls 19 Dec 2011. [This approval lapsed in 2016; see McGrath et al. (2019) entry in 'General comments' section.]
EPA (2019b) - 17 Jan 2019: application by the Waikato Regional Council to import and release Freudeita cf. cupripennis [subsequently recommended to be referred to as Freudeita cupripennis - see McGrath et al. (2018) and Leschen (2018) entries in 'General comments' section above] as a biological control for moth plant (Araujia hortorum). EPA Application # APP203667, approved without controls 13 May 2019.
References
EPA (2011a). EPA application APP201039: to import and release the beetle Colaspis argentinensis as a biological control agent for the weed moth plant Araujia hortorum. Environmental Protection Authority website https://www.epa.govt.nz/database-search/hsno-application-register/view/APP201039
EPA (2019b). EPA application APP203667: to release the moth plant beetle, Freudeita cf. cupripennis, as a biological control agent for moth plant (Araujia hortorum). Environmental Protection Authority website https://www.epa.govt.nz/database-search/hsno-application-register/view/APP203667
Hill R (2018b). Application to EPA (APP203667) to release a new organism, Freudeita cf. cupripennis. Environmental Protection Authority website https://www.epa.govt.nz/assets/FileAPI/hsno-ar/APP203667/a658fbe970/Application.pdf
Landcare Research (2014a). Promising pathogen for cruel climber What's new in biological control of weeds? 70: 4 http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/newsletters/biological-control-of-weeds/issue-70
Landcare Research (2015i). Who's who in biological control of weeds? Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 73: 10-11 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/assets/Publications/Weed-biocontrol/Weed_Biocontrol_73.pdf
Landcare Research (2017g). Who's who in biological control of weeds? Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 81: 10-11 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/newsletters/biological-control-of-weeds/issue-81
Landcare Research (2018e). A lucky break in Uruguay. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 84, May 2018 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/newsletters/biological-control-of-weeds/issue-84/a-lucky-break-in-uruguay
Landcare Research (2019g). Moth plant beetle misconception cleared up. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 89, August 2019 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/newsletters/biological-control-of-weeds/weed-biocontrol-issue-89/moth-plant-beetle-misconception-cleared-up
Landcare Research (2020a). Introducing the moth plant beetle, at last! Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 91, February 2020 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/newsletters/biological-control-of-weeds/issue-91/introducing-the-moth-plant-beetle,-at-last!
Landcare Research (2020g). Who's who in biological control of weeds? Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 93, Aug 2020. https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/weed-biocontrol/weed-biocontrol-articles/status-of-agents/
Landcare Research (2020h). Further reading and agents released table. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 93, Aug 2020. https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/weed-biocontrol/weed-biocontrol-articles/further-reading-and-agents-released-table/
Landcare Research (2020j). A seed-damaging fly for moth plant? Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 94, Nov 2020. https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/weed-biocontrol/weed-biocontrol-articles/a-seed-damaging-fly-for-moth-plant
Landcare Research (2021e). Further reading and agents released. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 97, August 2021 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/weed-biocontrol/weed-biocontrol-articles/further-reading
Landcare Research (2022g). Spring activities. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 101, August 2022 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/weed-biocontrol/weed-biocontrol-articles/spring-activities-3/
Landcare Research (2022h). Further reading and agents released 2021/22. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 101, August 2022 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/weed-biocontrol/weed-biocontrol-articles/further-reading-and-agents-released-202122/
Landcare Research (2022k). Summer activities. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 102, November 2022 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/weed-biocontrol/weed-biocontrol-articles/summer-activities-3/
Landcare Research (2023e). Spring activities. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 105, August 2023. https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/weed-biocontrol/weed-biocontrol-articles/spring-activities-4
Landcare Research (2023f). Further reading and biocontrol agents released in 2022/23. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? 105, August 2023. https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/weed-biocontrol/weed-biocontrol-articles/further-reading-and-agents-released
Landcare Research (2024f). Biocontrol agents released in 2023/2024. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? August 2024, 109: 12 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/assets/Publications/Weed-biocontrol/Issue-109/weed-biocontrol-issue-109.pdf
Landcare Research (2024h). Summer activites. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? November 2024, 110: 8 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/publications/weed-biocontrol/weed-biocontrol-articles/summer-activities-4/
Landcare Research (2025e). Spring activities. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? August 2025, 113: 8-9 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/assets/Publications/Weed-biocontrol/Issue-113/weed-biocontrol-issue-113.pdf
Landcare Research (2025f). Biocontrol agents released in 2024/2025. Weed Biocontrol: What's New? August 2025, 113: 12 https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/assets/Publications/Weed-biocontrol/Issue-113/weed-biocontrol-issue-113.pdf
Leschen R (2018). Clarifying the taxonomic name of a biocontrol agent of moth plant: Freudeita cupripennis (Chrysomelidae, Eumolpinae). Landcare Research unpublished report
McGrath Z, Paynter Q, Cartier A, Gourlay H, Hill R (2018). The host range of Freudeita cf. cupripennis, a biological control agent for moth plant, Araujia hortorum. Landcare Research website https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/assets/Discover-Our-Research/Biosecurity/Biocontrol-ecology-of-weeds/3-applications/host-range-of-Freudeita-cf-cupripennis.pdf
Paynter Q, Anderson FE, Barton J, Bianchinotti MV, Bownes A, Carpintero D, Delgado S, Delhey R, Gourlay AH, Hayes L, Kiehr M, McGrath Z, Ramírez GH, Testoni D, Villamil CB, Villamil SC (2025). Moth plant Araujia sericifera, an exotic smothering vine in New Zealand: Surveys for candidate biocontrol agents in South America, agent prioritization and safety testing. Biological Control, Vol. 210, November 2025, Article No. 105901 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocontrol.2025.105901
Waikato Regional Council (2011). Application to EPA (APP201039) to release a new organism, Colaspis argentinensis, without controls. Environmental Protection Authority website https://www.epa.govt.nz/assets/FileAPI/hsno-ar/APP201039/49ae802239/APP201039-APP201039-Application-final.pdf
