Includes abstract. / Includes bibliographical references. / In 2001, Dasineura dielsi (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a gall midge, was introduced into South Africa as a biological control agent on the invasive alien plant species, Acacia cyclops (Mimosaceae). An investigation was launched to test the following hypotheses: 1) the midges respond to the scent of A. cyclops to locate suitable oviposition sites; 2) the floral scent of A. melanoxylon, A. longifolia and A. saligna resembles that of A. cyclops and this explains the insects’use of these plants too; and 3) the floral scents of African acacias are distinctly different from A. cyclops and therefore has no attraction for D. dielsi.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:uct/oai:localhost:11427/11406 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | Kotze, MJ |
| Contributors | Hoffman, John |
| Publisher | University of Cape Town, Faculty of Science, Department of Biological Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Doctoral Thesis, Doctoral, PhD |
| Format | application/pdf |
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