[2] It has been released in the United States and Canada as a biocontrol agent to control spotted knapweed.

[4] It has been shown to reduce seed production in knapweed (spotted and diffuse) by up to 95% [5] but that is insufficient for effective management of either species.

[7] The inability of Urophora species to control knapweed led to the introduction of other biocontrol agents, including the weevils Larinus minutus and Bangasternus fausti, which also attack seed heads of knanpweed.

In cage experiments, larvae of Larinus minutus and Bangasternus fausti have been shown to consume the developing U.

[8] France & Germany East to Ukraine & southwest Russia, Italy, Balkans, Turkey & Iran; introduced to North America