Topic: Jumping plant lice

[ACE]

lets hope it does not backfire. Some of these bugs can cause even more trouble. But anything they try has got to be good news.

I am a bit worried about the term isolated areas in the south. It usually means a island. So I had better look after my non-native plants.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j7dgKjpLY-YRzKgd4d_Fjr8CEOmA

[Ninnyscrops.]

Not sure about this idea at all.  Any other examples of a non-native insect being brought in to control a plant infestation in the past, anyone??

Ninny

[Robert_Brenchley]

I think this is the first time.

[dtw]

The cane toad in Australia, I think that was to control another species (animal).
It has now overrun the place.

[PurpleHeather]

It raises more questions than it answers again.

Insects and plants have a habit of 'evolving' to adapt themselves to survive in an alien environment.

Has the Japanese Knotweed become a huge problem since the use of Weed Killers was restricted? 

I am sure they have imported bugs to control other bugs before. There is a nagging memory about green house pests for which a natural predator was imported.

[mat]

There's plenty of examples of pests being introduced to kill other greenhouse pests, but most of these die off in the absence of other pests or in the cold (such as the Encarsia wasp which controls whitefly)  what is different about this control species, is that it is being released into the outside environment, and one assumes it can survive our winters.  What happens when its food source runs out?  Will some gradually adapt to feed off other plants?

I hope their outside trials are in areas which are covered/protected with insect netting... and the trial species are comprehensive to contain not just "native plants" but a wode range of others as well

[Robert_Brenchley]

Cane toads weren't brought in to control a plant. It was a thingy-up, but I think they've learnt a bit since. I just hope they've done proper tests and are correct in saying that this thing won't affect other species.

[Kea]

Cane toads were used to control a beetle pest of sugar cane, but it didn't work.

As someone who has worked on a biological control project I am not happy that an alien species is being released as a control measure. You can pretty much guarantee that every possible host plant hasn't been found, but the insect will find it and probably like it better than the intended host.