Lepidium latifolium

<br>Extensive field surveys for biological control agents were conducted in the native range of L. latifolium, (China, Kazakhstan, Turkey, southern Russia and more recently in Armenia, Georgia and Iran) identified a total of 67 organisms. Several of these were identified as potential biological control agents for L. latifolium in the USA and were prioritized. These include the shoot-mining flea beetle Phyllotreta reitteri, the root-mining weevil Melanobaris sp. n. pr. semistriata, the gall-forming weevil Ceutorhynchus marginellus, the chloropid stem-mining fly Lasiosina deviata and the eriophyid mite Metaculus lepidifolii (Hinz et al., 2008). From 2006 onwards, host-specificity tests have been conducted to investigate the host range of these potential biocontrol agents. Tests with Ph. reitteri revealed that this species is not specific enough to be considered further, while work on L. deviata was postponed due the absence of evident impact. Host-specificity tests with M. sp. n. pr semistriata, C. marginellus and M. lepidifolii are ongoing. So far, none of these potential agents have been introduced to the USA.