Insights to the host range of the flea beetle Disonycha argentinensis Jacoby, 1992 (Coleoptera:Chrysomelidae), a candidate biological control agent of alligator weed in the U.S.A.
ABSTRACT.- Alligator weed, Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb. (Amaranthaceae) is an aggressive invader in waterways and pastures throughout most of the southeastern U.S.A., and California. Three insect biological control agents have provided substantial control of aquatic A. philoxeroides in the warmer parts of its range in the U.S.A. However, these insects are less effective against A. philoxeroides in riparian-terrestrial habitats.