Purple Loosestrife, Beetle Release

It was great fun releasing the beetles (Neogalerucella spp.) at the Coves East pond Wednesday June 7th! 
 The beetles come from Europe and are used as a biological control for Purple Loosestrife, a plant that originated from Europe also and flowers with purple flowers generally around late July to mid August.
What makes The beetles so effective in controlling the invasive Purple Loosestrife population is that they are host specific, which means they only feed, lay eggs on, and burrow under Purple Loosestrife.
Donna Mackenzie is the beetle specialist of Ontario beetles and is currently updating the monitoring manual, which will be posted to this page when it is completed by the end of June. If anyone is interested in helping to monitor the beetles and Purple Loosestrife please contact Donna Mackenzie via her  OntarioBeetles facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OntarioBeetles/
There will be 3 important ways to monitor the beetles and Purple Loosestrife:
1. count egg masses
2. monitor Purple Loosestrife when it flowers and in the fall
3. photography; find a spot and take a picture of the same spot on the
same date each year for several years. This is a very useful
documentary to see how well the biological control treatment is
working.







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