L | A
It may be a handsome beetle, but what's more attractive is the way it eats – it's the Tradescantia Leaf Beetle, one of the latest biological control agents to be released in the Bay of Plenty.
This is the second release of the beetle in the region with the first carried out at a site south of Tauranga last month.
The Tradescantia Leaf Beetle is being released in the wild.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council biosecurity officer Tim Senior says the adult beetles were released in the Opotiki area in the Eastern Bay of Plenty this week to help control the problematic pest plant Tradescantia fluminensis.
This weed is more commonly known as Wandering Jew.
'This is an aggressive pest plant that forms extensive, sometimes deep carpets, which can obliterate all native ground covering,” says Tim.
'It's also commonly hated by gardeners and it's almost impossible to get rid of.”
Tim says it was the leaf beetles' larvae, which did most of the damage to it.
'Although the adult beetle chews holes around the edges of the leaf, the main damage is caused by the larvae, which graze the tissue off the leaves, mostly on the undersides, and can eventually skeletonise them.”
The beetle is host-specific and it is unlikely that anything other than this pest plant will be attacked.
Other agents that feed on the stems and growing tips are also being considered for introduction to work alongside this beetle.
Tim says the release of these insects is not a quick-fix as it requires some time for them to establish and impact on the pest plant population.
The Environmental Risk Management Authority has approved the release as a biological control agent in New Zealand after rigorous testing.
Sites where the beetle has been released will be monitored and when sufficient numbers are established, the beetle will be redistributed to other parts of the Bay of Plenty.
It may be a handsome beetle, but what's more attractive is the way it eats – it's the Tradescantia Leaf Beetle, one of the latest biological control agents to be released in the Bay of Plenty.
This is the second release of the beetle in the region with the first carried out at a site south of Tauranga last month.
The Tradescantia Leaf Beetle is being released in the wild.
Bay of Plenty Regional Council biosecurity officer Tim Senior says the adult beetles were released in the Opotiki area in the Eastern Bay of Plenty this week to help control the problematic pest plant Tradescantia fluminensis.
This weed is more commonly known as Wandering Jew.
'This is an aggressive pest plant that forms extensive, sometimes deep carpets, which can obliterate all native ground covering,” says Tim.
'It's also commonly hated by gardeners and it's almost impossible to get rid of.”
Tim says it was the leaf beetles' larvae, which did most of the damage to it.
'Although the adult beetle chews holes around the edges of the leaf, the main damage is caused by the larvae, which graze the tissue off the leaves, mostly on the undersides, and can eventually skeletonise them.”
The beetle is host-specific and it is unlikely that anything other than this pest plant will be attacked.
Other agents that feed on the stems and growing tips are also being considered for introduction to work alongside this beetle.
Tim says the release of these insects is not a quick-fix as it requires some time for them to establish and impact on the pest plant population.
The Environmental Risk Management Authority has approved the release as a biological control agent in New Zealand after rigorous testing.
Sites where the beetle has been released will be monitored and when sufficient numbers are established, the beetle will be redistributed to other parts of the Bay of Plenty.
