Wasps released in Louisiana to combat destructive plant bugs

10/11/2006, 6:47 p.m. CT
By STACEY PLAISANCE
The Associated Press
METAIRIE, La. (AP) — Louisiana horticulturists tied a small cylindrical vial containing hundreds of gnat-sized wasps to a hibiscus plant on a well-groomed Metairie lawn Wednesday, and removed the cap.

Once airborne, the wasps were almost invisible to the naked eye. But tiny as they are, the non-stinging wasps are the state's biggest ally in eradicating a pest — the pink hibiscus mealybug — that's made its way to Louisiana.

Native to Africa and Asia, the mealybugs attach themselves to plants and suck out the sap and nutrients, eventually killing the plant. They leave behind a lumpy white residue that resembles Christmas tree flocking.

In recent weeks, the state tested plants in parts of Jefferson Parish reported to have signs of infestation. Almost 40 tested positive in Metairie, Kenner and Marrero. That has agricultural officials concerned because the tiny mealybugs can destroy more than 10,000 kinds of plants, including agricultural crops.

"They can attack sugarcane. They can attack citrus crops. They can do a lot of damage," said state Agriculture Commissioner Bob Odom, who was at one of the wasp-release sites.

The bugs have been reported in only two other states — California and Florida — both of which have managed to control the pests with parasitic wasps. A wasp will puncture the bug and lay eggs in it. Once deposited, the larvae feed on the bug internally, causing it to die.

State agriculture officials imported thousands of the wasps from facilities in California and Puerto Rico, where they're raised for the government. The wasps are the most effective and natural way to combat mealybugs, and because they don't sting, they pose no threat to humans, Odom said.

Odom and a group of state horticulturists deposited thousands of the wasps, hundreds at a time, in affected neighborhoods on Wednesday.

Their first stop was the Metairie home of Jan Gourgues, who looked on as a horticulturist tied two vials with about 200 wasps in each to the mealybug-infested hibiscus on her front lawn.

Gourgues said she knew something was wrong a few months ago when her hibiscus plants didn't bloom this summer for the first time in years, and their leaves started to curl and fall off prematurely. Then she noticed a lumpy white coating on the stems and branches.

"I thought it was a fungus," she said.

Odom asked that homeowners in Jefferson Parish not use pesticides or other wasp treatments while the wasps are being released. He said the wasps will be released on a weekly basis in infested neighborhoods for several weeks.

i heard it from a good source that the repubs are genetically engineering these wasps to use against dems.

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Might be true, wasps protect the Bushes.

touche!

you are the best at word play!

tom w

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Coffee. Lots of coffee.

The dumps where I live won't take any debris from NOLA because of those super-termites that are supposedly rampant down there.

I've read horror stories about those NOLA termites -- pianos crashing through a second story floor and the like.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

I think they are called Formosa termites and supposedly can't be killed by the normal legal termite poisons.

Scary stuff. Glad it's too cold for the fiends up here...

http://www.nola.com/speced/homewreckers/images/fortress.pdf

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Chris
2007 E550 4Matic - 61,000 Km - Iridium Silver, black leather, Sport package, Premium 2 package
2007 GL450 4Matic - 62,000 Km - Obsidian Black Metallic, black leather, all options
1998 E430 - sold
1989 300E - 333,000 Km - sold
1977 280E - sold
1971 250 - retired

"And a frign hat. They gave me a hat at the annual benefits meeting. I said. how does this benefit me. I dont have anything from the company.. So they gave me a hat." - TheDon

Very interesting show on Discovery yesterday about the fire ant infestation here in S. Texas. Entomologists in Bee county just northof here have found a tiny fly that lays its eggs in the joint between the head and thorax on the fire ant. Not only does the egg turn into a maggot and eat the any but the mere presence of the fly disrupts the behavior of the ants to the point where the colony starts to collapse. They say that the fly will never kill off all the ants but it will help in controlling them. Ain't science wonderful?

"Decapitator Fly." They've been releasing them in LA for several years as a trial. The flood from Hurricane Rita f**ked-up the experiment in SW LA, among other f**k-ups from the storm.

B

I've heard that there are people trying to sell mulch around the country from NO wood that had been shredded. This much, then carries these Formosa termites to other areas of the country. It certainly made me think more carefully about who I buy my mulch from.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

Good Lord, that's about 10 times dumber than introducing Atlantic salmon into the Pacific via salmon farms even, which is pretty dumb by itself.

I understand fire ants are one of the few ant species that have been able to resist the tiny Argentine ants that have taken over many parts of the west. They say that from San Diego up to Ukiah, north of SF, it's essentially one giant colony with many, many queens:

Full story at: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/09/15/BAG75L6BJK1.DTL&hw=argentine+ants&sn=001&sc=1000

Argentine ants, those aggressive unstoppable pests that invade homes and farms throughout California and many other states, live in peace and harmony with each other inside their enormous colonies, but scientists are finally discovering how to make those ants destroy their own relatives in spasms of chemical warfare.

In laboratory experiments, researchers have found that when they alter the chemical coding those common household ants carry on the skeletons outside their bodies, all hell breaks loose. The ants, unable to recognize their altered nest mates, will tear the strangers' legs apart, rip off their sensitive antennae and battle them to the death.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K