This is the second and possibly final year for Federal Aid funding of work at Cornell to breed these insects which feed solely on loosestrife, not impacting native vegetation, in fact, starving themselves rather than eat anything but loosestrife. Loosestrife plants are hearty perennials originating in Europe and Asia with a beautiful purple flower. The plant forms dense stands in a wide range of wetland and lakeshore habitats, replacing native plants, degrading food, shelter and nesting sites for wildlife. There are no current chemical or mechanical means to provide long-term control of the spread of loosestrife, but insects from Europe, leaf- and flower-eating beetles, and root-feeding weevils are natural predators capable of minimizing the number of plants. The problem in North America is that these natural predators are not normally found in the country.
Research into this form of biological control of loosestrife began at Cornell University in the mid 1980s and in 1992, a nationally coordinated program led to the introduction of four species of European insects in North America. As is common with biological control, before the Service became involved as a partner with actual placement of insects for control of loosestrife a large amount of testing was needed to be sure these insects would not themselves become a nuisance as well. The insects were tested with various plants, including farm produced plants to make sure they would not attack crops as well as the loosestrife. Research indicated that the insects would starve themselves rather than eat anything other than loosestrife and the project moved on to the breeding and placement phases.
Assistant Regional Director for Federal Aid Brad Johnson, said, Our Region was part of the first release of these insects, with approximately $300,000 in Federal Aid going toward this successful effort. Due largely to the success of this effort, refuges such as Sherburne, Horicon, Shiawassee and the Upper Mississippi River MacGregor and Winona Districts, have taken on propagation of these insects for future releases as needed on Service lands. The grant sources for the initial production were a combination of Federal Aid and NAWCA (North American Wetlands Conservation Act) dollars.
Jim Mattson, purple loosestrife coordinator for the region, pointed out, The goal of this biological control effort is not elimination of purple loosestrife, rather to keep the plants at a manageable level. If all of the plants are gone, the insects wont have the food they need to survive and any reintroduction of loosestrife would rekindle the problem of the plants spreading because the insects would have died from lack of food.
Mattson also noted that purple loosestrife has a 175-year head start in spreading and would be difficult to eliminate all together, however, distributing these European insects shows clear signs of success at reducing populations of healthy plants within two or three years.
Field stations and state natural resource agencies are currently placing their orders for insects, which are scheduled to be packaged and delivered between June 20 and July 31. A minimum of 500-1000 insects are normally released per site, and often result in visibly defoliated loosestrife plants after the first year, and a combination of large reductions in the plant mass and the rebounding of native plant species by the second year.
To date, about 25,000 insects have been released on Service lands in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region states of: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio and Wisconsin. This year an additional 1 million are anticipated for release throughout North America. Purple loosestrife is found in 49 states and Canada. But thanks to continued efforts of staff at Cornell University, the Service and state resource agencies are waging a successful campaign to restore the natural balance in North American wetland plant communities, benefitting wildlife and the critical habitat which is their home.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov
