Abstract:
Based on climatic and plant phenotype matching,
native-range surveys were conducted in Ethiopia
to identify prospective biological control agents
for prickly acacia, a serious weed of grazing areas
in northern Australia. Surveys identified a gall
thrips, Acaciothrips ebneri (Karny) (Thysanoptera:
Phlaeothripidae), as a prospective biological
control agent for prickly acacia, based on damage
potential, field host range and geographic range in
Ethiopia. The gall thrips was imported into a high
security quarantine facility at the Ecosciences
Precinct, Brisbane,Australia in December 2015 and
host-specificity tests are in progress. If approved,
the gall thrips would be the first gall insect to be
released against prickly acacia in Australia.
