Britain set to release non-native insect into the wild

news.bbc.co.uk...

news.bbc.co.uk...

A plant-eating predator that preys on aggressive superweed Japanese knotweed is to be given a trial release in England.

Since Japanese knotweed was introduced to the UK it has rapidly spread, and the plant currently costs over £150m a year to control and clear.

Knotweed is a serious threat to Britain’s plants and wildlife. It is an invasive species that, once established, completely takes over an area. Notoriously difficult to remove, and of no use to British wildlife, it is probably the number one invasive species in Britain!!

Scientist are now preparing to release the insect "Aphalara itadori" into the wild in an attempt to control this plant.

Aphalara itadori is, in Japan, one of 200 of the plants natural predators. Scientist are hoping that this plant eating insect will gorge itself on the knotweed thus helping to bring it under control!!

The worry for me is that we could be releasing an insect into the wild that could turn out to be just as bad (or worse) than the species it is meant to control!!
We have no idea how it will react. What happens if this insect decides that it also finds one of our native plants tastier??? Or several plants for that matter??

The Australian problems with the Cane Toad springs to mind!!

Is there no other way we can bring the knotweed under control...

I have a bad feeling about this... It feels like we are tinkering



[edit on 20-3-2010 by Muckster]

I totally agree. Kudzu came to America as an ornamental plant. Now it is an official weed and a very invasive speices because the climate of the Southeastern U.S. is perfect for kudzu. The vines grow as much as a foot per day during summer months, climbing trees, power poles, and anything else they contact. Under ideal conditions kudzu vines can grow sixty feet each year.

And then there is the Africanized honeybee. They thought it would increase honey production, but it not only failed to increase honey production, it's positively dangerous to humans and animals.
If you want to see all the problems global "sharing" has produced check out www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov...

Every time mankind tries to use one foreign species to control another, it ends up in total failure and an ever bigger problem. Soon these bugs will be eating the roses around the Windsor Palace while knotweed continues to flourish.

They should at least sterilize the bugs before they let them go.

reply to post by Terapin


Highly unlikely that is why they chose this exact insect for this exact purpose. The real problem here is introducing new plant life to new geographical areas. Sadly this has been happening for a long time and countries all over the world end up dealing with the mess. That is no chump change to maintain this type of hassle to the environment. I say release the bugs...

Just this once I want to bring a happy/fuzzy note to this.

We have the Lady Bugs here to help eliminate aphids.


I really do dig lady bugs.

I'm just man enough to admit it !

Never understood this rhyme though. Kinda dark

"lady bug, lady bug, fly away home. Your house is on fire and your babies are alone".

Kinda morbid isnt it?

Originally posted by Terapin
Every time mankind tries to use one foreign species to control another, it ends up in total failure and an ever bigger problem. Soon these bugs will be eating the roses around the Windsor Palace while knotweed continues to flourish.

They should at least sterilize the bugs before they let them go.

There is trouble with Japanese knotweed in all european countries north of Alps and even in parts of USA. I was talking about this with my "crazy" professor (he is geologist but have grate transcendence into architecture/urbanism/live environment - human history and culture). He said: "Sooner or later will came time when somebody will came with idea to fight this with other non-domestic specie and it will be probably start of another catastrophe - maybe worse than Japanese knotweed." And really I do not know any single instance when such practice was successful.

Originally posted by zachi
I totally agree. Kudzu came to America as an ornamental plant. Now it is an official weed and a very invasive speices because the climate of the Southeastern U.S. is perfect for kudzu. The vines grow as much as a foot per day during summer months, climbing trees, power poles, and anything else they contact. Under ideal conditions kudzu vines can grow sixty feet each year.

And then there is the Africanized honeybee. They thought it would increase honey production, but it not only failed to increase honey production, it's positively dangerous to humans and animals.
If you want to see all the problems global "sharing" has produced check out www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov...

awesome site...
has me thinking about one thing though.........

could insects and or plants be being used as a biological warfare tactic???

Why can't they genetically engineer insects, as they can crops?

I guess the science isn't there, yet.. but wouldn't that be a great solution? Custom made bugs, to clean up messes for us

BTW, if either of these species operated like global markets do, we'd simply voluntarily spread every species in the world to every corner of the globe, then let the handful of super-successes suck up 1/4 of all the resources on the planet while everything else dies from lack of ability to compete..

If it works in business.. why can't it work in nature!

reply to post by felonius

Just this once I want to bring a happy/fuzzy note to this.

We have the Lady Bugs here to help eliminate aphids.


I really do dig lady bugs.

I'm just man enough to admit it

!

I love them too

However, we also have a problem with Ladybugs (or ladybirds as we call them)

news.bbc.co.uk...

The Harlequin ladybird is another invasive species that is threatening the British native Ladybird. The harlequin, unlike the native, does not just feed on aphids... it will also feed on horticultural beneficial insects and other ladybirds...

And what do scientists intend to do to combat this??

Release another foreign creature, in the form of a mite, which feeds on the bugs!!

I really don't know what the answer is... but i am always worried about the effects of introducing foreign creatures into any eco systems!



[edit on 21-3-2010 by Muckster]

reply to post by baphomet420


If you have been following all the animal problems like "white-nose syndrome" in bats or colony collapse disorder, your might want to call them terrrorist attacks... but to what purpose? No bats mean more bugs, more candidates for distrubuting malaria and other pathogens? The entire Earth would suffer without our efficient little pollinators - who would benefit from that?
Pythons running wild in the Everglades is serious and fighting kudzu or knotweed is difficult, but again - to what end is it useful to terrorists.
Now if "white-nose syndrome" could jump the species barrier and attack humans AND the terrorists had an antidote, then you have a powerful weapon and a big problem for who ever is on the wrong side of it.