New species of Onthophagus Latreille (Coleoptera : Scarabaeidae) from Australia

Twenty new Australian species of the scarabaeine genus Onthophagus Latreille are described: O. arkoola, O. beelarong, O. bindaree, O. binyana, O. bundara, O. cooloola, O. dinjerra, O. godarra, O. gurburra, O. kakadu, O. mije, O. mongana, O. pinaroo, O. trawalla, O. weringerong, O. williamsi, O. worooa, O. yackatoon, O. yaran, O. yourula. Notes and scanning electron micrographs are given to assist in the separation of each from previously described Australian species. Distribution maps are provided for each species

Bitou bush and boneseed eradication and containment in Australia

Bitou bush and boneseed (Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. rotundata (DC.) T.Norl. and C. monilifera subsp. monilifera (L.) T.Norl., respectively) are highly invasive environmental weeds that pose a serious threat to Australia’s natural ecosystems and biota. Bitou bush threatens coastal plant communities in New South Wales (NSW), eastern Victoria and southeast Queensland (Qld), while boneseed threatens inland and coastal native plant communities across NSW, South Australia (SA), Tasmania, Victoria, and Western Australia (WA). Over 200 plant species and ecological communities in Australia are negatively impacted by these weeds (ARMCANZ et al. 2000, DEC 2006) and over 15% (approx. 120 million ha) of Australia is susceptible to invasion (see maps in Weiss et al 2008). In 2000, the National Bitou Bush and Boneseed Strategic Plan (ARMCANZ et al. 2000) was approved as part of the Commonwealth’s Weeds of National Significance initiative. A key goal of this plan is to prevent the spread of bitou bush and boneseed in Australia. A national program sponsored by the Australian Government and the affected states has resulted in the development of national containment and eradication zones that prevent the spread of bitou bush and boneseed. This paper presents an overview of these bitou bush and boneseed containment and eradication programs.

A method for mapping the distribution and density of rabbits and other vertebrate pests in Australia

The European wild rabbit has been considered Australia’s worst vertebrate pest and yet little effort appears to have gone into producing maps of rabbit distribution and density. Mapping the distribution and density of pests is an important step in effective management. A map is essential for estimating the extent of damage caused and for efficiently planning and monitoring the success of pest control operations. This paper describes the use of soil type and point data to prepare a map showing the distribution and density of rabbits in Australia. The potential for the method to be used for mapping other vertebrate pests is explored. The approach used to prepare the map is based on that used for rabbits in Queensland (Berman et al. 1998). An index of rabbit density was determined using the number of Spanish rabbit fleas released per square kilometre for each Soil Map Unit (Atlas of Australian Soils). Spanish rabbit fleas were released into active rabbit warrens at 1606 sites in the early 1990s as an additional vector for myxoma virus and the locations of the releases were recorded using a Global Positioning System (GPS). Releases were predominantly in arid areas but some fleas were released in south east Queensland and the New England Tablelands of New South Wales. The map produced appears to reflect well the distribution and density of rabbits, at least in the areas where Spanish fleas were released. Rabbit pellet counts conducted in 2007 at 54 sites across an area of south east South Australia, south eastern Queensland, and parts of New South Wales (New England Tablelands and south west) in soil Map Units where Spanish fleas were released, provided a preliminary means to ground truth the map. There was a good relationship between mean pellet count score and the index of abundance for soil Map Units. Rabbit pellet counts may allow extension of the map into other parts of Australia where there were no Spanish rabbit fleas released and where there may be no other consistent information on rabbit location and density. The recent Equine Influenza outbreak provided a further test of the value of this mapping method. The distribution and density of domestic horses were mapped to provide estimates of the number of horses in various regions. These estimates were close to the actual numbers of horses subsequently determined from vaccination records and registrations. The soil Map Units are not simply soil types they contain information on landuse and vegetation and the soil classification is relatively localised. These properties make this mapping method useful, not only for rabbits, but also for other species that are not so dependent on soil type for survival.

Bactrocera frauenfeldi (Diptera: Tephritidae), an invasive fruit fly in Australia that may have reached the extent of its spread due to environmental variables

Bactrocera frauenfeldi (Schiner), the ‘mango fruit fly’, is a horticultural pest originating from the Papua New Guinea region. It was first detected in Australia on Cape York Peninsula in north Queensland in 1974 and had spread to Cairns by 1994 and Townsville by 1997. Bactrocera frauenfeldi has not been recorded further south since then despite its invasive potential, an absence of any controls and an abundance of hosts in southern areas. Analysis of cue-lure trapping data from 1997 to 2012 in relation to environmental variables shows that the distribution of B. frauenfeldi in Queensland correlates to locations with a minimum temperature for the coldest month >13.2°C, annual temperature range <19.3°C, mean temperature of the driest quarter >20.2°C, precipitation of the wettest month >268 mm, precipitation of the wettest quarter >697 mm, temperature seasonality <30.9°C (i.e. lower temperature variability) and areas with higher human population per square kilometre. Annual temperature range was the most important variable in predicting this species' distribution. Predictive distribution maps based on an uncorrelated subset of these variables reasonably reflected the current distribution of this species in northern Australia and predicted other areas in the world potentially at risk from invasion by this species. This analysis shows that the distribution of B. frauenfeldi in Australia is correlated to certain environmental variables that have most likely limited this species' spread southward in Queensland. This is of importance to Australian horticulture in demonstrating that B. frauenfeldi is unlikely to establish in horticultural production areas further south than Townsville.