TALES OF GOOD AND WEEVIL
Weevils are rarely considered beneficial insects but scientists at Australia’s CSIRO have identified some that use their powers for good — not evil.
Of our thousands of native species, only 4110 of which have been described, many are outright pests that attack crops, flowers, trees and wood indiscriminately.
Even so, some are pollinators and others show “high host specificity”, meaning they eat only certain plants, which makes them useful for targeting weeds.
Take water hyacinth, a highly invasive aquatic weed that has choked waterways from Africa’s Lake Victoria to the Sepik River in Papua New Guinea, stopping transport and threatening the livelihoods of fishing communities.
Research by Aussie scientists led them to two ideal biocontrol agents, the mottled water hyacinth weevil (Neochetina eichhorniae) and the chevroned water hyacinth weevil (N.…
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Good Organic Gardening (Digital) - 1 Issue, 15.1