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Beetles on the move spell promise of loosestrife control
Published: August 21, 2007
Shhh! If you're very quiet, you might hear the sound of munching in the meadow, and what a welcome sound it is to environmentalists.
Galerucella beetles, mortal enemies of purple loosestrife, are showing up all over the North Shore, miles from where they have been released.
"We were very impressed to see it's working at a number of sites," said Beth Suedmeyer, coordinator of the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management's Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Project.
The invasive loosestrife has spent the last decade taking over area wetlands, choking native plants and creating an environment where only loosestrife survives. And until recently, the plants had no enemies.
Enter the Galerucella beetles. They're diminutive - barely larger than the head of a pin - and have only one course on their menu, loosestrife. They were first introduced in the Parker River Wildlife Refuge in the mid-1990s, with a host of unanswered questions.
The first was whether they would survive New England winters. Enough did that they eventually managed to keep loosestrife in check at the refuge on Plum Island.
The second question was whether the beetles would move to different areas where loostestrife proliferates, after reducing the plant population in their original location. They are not native to New England or even North America and thus have to be raised in greenhouses and released in the wild.
From Beverly to Essex, that's what's happening, at least on a small scale.
"It's very promising to see that kind of migration," Suedmeyer said.
The presence of beetles far from where they were introduced gives state officials the chance to be more selective about future releases of the insects.
"We want to utilize our limited resources in the best way possible," Suedmeyer said.
People who frequent wetlands are now being asked to help out by contacting the Biocontrol Project to pinpoint beetles they find, so that none needs to be released there.
The beetles aren't likely to eradicate loosestrife. In some areas, the plants are so thick it will take years for the beetles to catch up. Still, at least on a small scale the beetles have proven to be effective.
Ipswich scientist Mike DeRosa creates wetlands. Fourteen years ago, he designed one for the then-new Schylling toy company on Route 1 in Rowley.
Galerucella beetles, mortal enemies of purple loosestrife, are showing up all over the North Shore, miles from where they have been released.
"We were very impressed to see it's working at a number of sites," said Beth Suedmeyer, coordinator of the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management's Purple Loosestrife Biocontrol Project.
The invasive loosestrife has spent the last decade taking over area wetlands, choking native plants and creating an environment where only loosestrife survives. And until recently, the plants had no enemies.
Enter the Galerucella beetles. They're diminutive - barely larger than the head of a pin - and have only one course on their menu, loosestrife. They were first introduced in the Parker River Wildlife Refuge in the mid-1990s, with a host of unanswered questions.
The first was whether they would survive New England winters. Enough did that they eventually managed to keep loosestrife in check at the refuge on Plum Island.
The second question was whether the beetles would move to different areas where loostestrife proliferates, after reducing the plant population in their original location. They are not native to New England or even North America and thus have to be raised in greenhouses and released in the wild.
From Beverly to Essex, that's what's happening, at least on a small scale.
"It's very promising to see that kind of migration," Suedmeyer said.
The presence of beetles far from where they were introduced gives state officials the chance to be more selective about future releases of the insects.
"We want to utilize our limited resources in the best way possible," Suedmeyer said.
People who frequent wetlands are now being asked to help out by contacting the Biocontrol Project to pinpoint beetles they find, so that none needs to be released there.
The beetles aren't likely to eradicate loosestrife. In some areas, the plants are so thick it will take years for the beetles to catch up. Still, at least on a small scale the beetles have proven to be effective.
Ipswich scientist Mike DeRosa creates wetlands. Fourteen years ago, he designed one for the then-new Schylling toy company on Route 1 in Rowley.
DeRosa seeded the 5,000-square-foot site with a mixture of native wild plant seeds, which slowly grew into a healthy, natural environment. But loosestrife started moving in, and five years ago it had taken over.
Then the beetles arrived, possibly the offspring of beetles the Rowley Conservation Commission released along Route 1 in the 1990s.
Today, "there's no loosestrife at all," DeRosa said.
Those who want to help pinpoint beetle locations can go to Coastal Zone Management's Web site, www.mass.gov/czm/wrp/projects_pages/loosestrife.htm, where an interactive program allows them to map their sitings.
