Ruppert Landscape Appoints Kang President & COO
Jessica Schwartz
Native Wasp May Help ALB Eradication Efforts
As Turf recently reported, August is “Tree Check Month” for Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) since adult activity peaks this month for the invasive wood-boring beetle that attacks and kills 12 types of North American hardwood trees. But alongside public education efforts to spot and control ALB, the USDA and its partners may soon have another tool in its arsenal in the 25+ year battle, reported Sharon Lucik in Plant Protection Today, a USDA publication. Scientists from the USDA’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program announced in late July that they are evaluating a stingless parasitoid wasp, or Ontsira mellipes, for its potential to attack and kill ALB larvae. The wasp is native to North America, abundant, and widely distributed across the continent. Ontsira mellipes attacks larvae of native longhorned wood-boring beetles and ALB—a non-native—in laboratory tests. For this reason, scientists are hopeful that the wasp can aid ALB eradication efforts and conducting field studies in the ALB quarantine area in Worcester, MA. The team will conduct an 18-week study on conservation property in woodlots where public usage is limited, and ALB quarantine regulations are in place. “We’re already out in the field setting up our test and control plots,” said PQ’s Science and Technology researcher Juli Gould. If scientists do prove Ontsira mellipes is an effective biocontrol agent for the ALB, it would provide the ALB staff with a new tool to use in sensitive areas where traditional eradication methods may not be suitable, and also in wetlands and rugged ...
Native Wasp May Help ALB Eradication Efforts
As Turf recently reported, August is “Tree Check Month” for Asian longhorned beetle (ALB) since adult activity peaks this month for the invasive wood-boring beetle that attacks and kills 12 types of North American hardwood trees. But alongside public education efforts to spot and control ALB, the USDA and its partners may soon have another tool in its arsenal in the 25+ year battle, reported Sharon Lucik in Plant Protection Today, a USDA publication. Scientists from the USDA’s Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) program announced in late July that they are evaluating a stingless parasitoid wasp, or Ontsira mellipes, for its potential to attack and kill ALB larvae. The wasp is native to North America, abundant, and widely distributed across the continent. Ontsira mellipes attacks larvae of native longhorned wood-boring beetles and ALB—a non-native—in laboratory tests. For this reason, scientists are hopeful that the wasp can aid ALB eradication efforts and conducting field studies in the ALB quarantine area in Worcester, MA. The team will conduct an 18-week study on conservation property in woodlots where public usage is limited, and ALB quarantine regulations are in place. “We’re already out in the field setting up our test and control plots,” said PQ’s Science and Technology researcher Juli Gould. If scientists do prove Ontsira mellipes is an effective biocontrol agent for the ALB, it would provide the ALB staff with a new tool to use in sensitive areas where traditional eradication methods may not be suitable, and also in wetlands and rugged ...
Send In The Bugs! Brazilian Thrips Released To Fight Invasive Peppertree
Scientists from the University of Florida are betting on a tiny (.08 to .12 inches) winged insect to help protect the Florida Everglades. Why? Because the insects, Brazilian peppertree thrips, may be our best hope against combatting invasive Brazilian peppertree, which currently infests over 700,000 acres in Florida, including many sensitive habitats such as mangroves and sawgrass marshes in the Everglades. Introduced to Florida as an ornamental in the late 1800s, Brazilian peppertree is overtaking agricultural and natural areas of Florida, Hawaii, and Texas. A relative of poison ivy, it can cause allergic reactions in people and toxic effects when ingested by birds or animals. Despite the expenditure of millions of dollars, traditional methods have been unable to stem the spread of this weed. Between 2010 and 2011, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) spent $7 million in herbicidal controls. In 2011, the South Florida Water Management District spent $1.7 million to control Brazilian peppertree. (These budgets would have been larger if resources permitted.) While these control efforts continue, federal, state, and local land managers have been waiting for better options. For about 30 years, scientists searched for the right bug or combination of insects for a less-intrusive way to mitigate Brazilian pepper trees. Eventually, it was found the thrips, called Pseudophilothrips ichini, and a leaf galler, Calophya latiforceps, appeared to effectively consume the peppertree. To gain approval from the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) for release as a biological control agent, the insects first ...
