The combination of Aphthona spp. flea beetles and herbicides can increase leafy spurge control when compared with either method used alone, but the effect of herbicides on the biocontrol agent and conversely the effect of Aphthona on herbicides within the plant are unknown. Understanding this interaction will allow for maximum weed control with little or no negative effect on the establishment and reproduction of the biological agent. Fall application of picloram plus 2,4-D had a minimal negative effect on the A. nigriscutis population and no effect on overwintering fitness. The number of A. nigriscutis adults collected from soil cores taken from the field was similar regardless of the herbicide application date, although emergence was variable. Leafy spurge soluble and insoluble carbohydrate and soluble protein concentrations, which are indirect measurements of the herbicide's effect on nutrient availability to the insect, were similar in treated and untreated plants. Aphthona nigriscutis larval feeding did not affect the absorption or translocation of 14C–2,4-D or 14C-picloram alone or in combination in leafy spurge. The observed increase in leafy spurge control due to the combined treatment was likely an additive effect of herbicide toxicity to root tissue and A. nigriscutis larval feeding on root buds.
Nomenclature: Picloram; 2,4-D; Aphthona nigriscutis Foudras; leafy spurge, Euphorbia esula L. EPHES.