''Heteroperreyia hubrichi'' is a South American sawfly that feeds on plants of the genus '' Schinus''.

Role in biological control

Brazilian pepper trees (''Schinus)'' are trees native to South America, whose ornamental introduction lead to a process of

biological invasion An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

in more than 20 countries. In US states of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, the introduction of the sawfly ''H. hubrichi'' was proposed as a controlling mechanism against the Brazilian pepper tree's dispersion, due to the high host specificity it shows. In Florida, host-specificity tests with commercially valuable and native/endangered tree species were conducted and were positive, so a request to the technical advisory group on the Introduction of Biological Control Agents of Weeds about the introduction was approved, however, as ''H. hubrichi'' is known to produce cytotoxic peptides as do other pergid sawflies, concern about cattle intoxication probably stopped it. Results in Hawaii showed potential risk to endangered ''

Rhus sandwicensis ''Rhus sandwicensis'', commonly known as ''neneleau'', ''neleau'' or Hawaiian sumac, is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family, Anacardiaceae, that is endemic to Hawaii. It is small tree, reaching a height of and a trunk diameter of ...

''.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q65070938 Tenthredinoidea Sawflies Insects described in 1937