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Salvinia molesta, commonly known as giant salvinia, or as kariba weed after it infested a large portion of Lake Kariba between Zimbabwe and Zambia, is an aquatic fern, native to south-eastern Brazil. [1] It is a free-floating plant that does not attach to the soil, but instead remains buoyant on the surface of a body of water.
Cyrtobagous salviniae is a species of weevil known as the salvinia weevil. It is used as an agent of biological pest control against the noxious aquatic plant giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta). The adult weevil is about 2 millimeters long. It is brown in color during its first few days of adult life and soon turns shiny black.
Larval feeding on host plants causes plant death, which makes S. multiplicalis a good candidate for biological control of weedy water plants like Salvinia molesta, an invasive water fern in Australia. However, high rates of parasitism in the moth compromise its ability to effectively control water weeds.
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Another aquatic weed, the giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta) is a serious pest, covering waterways, reducing water flow and harming native species. Control with the salvinia weevil ( Cyrtobagous salviniae ) and the salvinia stem-borer moth ( Samea multiplicalis ) is effective in warm climates, [ 19 ] [ 20 ] and in Zimbabwe, a 99% control of the ...
Giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta) is a commonly introduced invasive weed in warm climates, but is native to South America. It grows rapidly, up to two times its dry weight in 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 days, and forms dense mats over still waters. A tiny weevil, Cyrtobagous salviniae, has been used successfully to biologically control giant salvinia. [9]
The species has been used for weed control on highly invasive aquatic plants like Salvinia molesta, as the giant gourami can be a voracious herbivore. [6] [7] It is capable of breathing moist air, so can survive out of water for long periods.
In 1984, a species of weevil was successfully used as a biological pest control to contain a proliferation of the weed Salvinia molesta in the lake. [4] [5] The first releases were made in 1980. The weevil destroyed tens of thousands of tonnes of weed. [6]