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Weed Biocontrol articles

  1. A New Biocontrol Target for the Pacific?

    Cordia alliodora, known as cordia or kotia in Tonga and Samoa, is increasingly recognised as an invasive weed of concern. Late last year the BSI weed biocontrol group began assessing whether this tree could be a suitable target for control. A feasibility study was prepared for the Secretariat of the...

  2. A Rust Joins the Fight Against Darwin’s Barberry

    In July 2025 the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) approved the release of the Darwin’s barberry rust fungus and the Darwin’s barberry flower weevil as biocontrol agents for the invasive shrub Darwin’s barberry.

  3. Finding the Weevil in the Horsetail-Stack

    The weed biocontrol team recently visited several release sites to check whether the field horsetail weevil (Grypus equiseti) has established. Signs of plant damage were detected back in 2023, but until now the agent itself had never been found at the field sites. This spring the team’s efforts fina...

  4. Surveying for Biocontrol Agents in a Weed’s Native Range

    The very first premeditated classical weed biocontrol programme was remarkably unsophisticated: 14 insect species collected by Albert Koebele in Mexico were released on lantana (Lantana camara) in Hawaii in 1902. Agent selection was based on Koebele’s judgement and didn’t even include host specifici...

  5. More damage, less biomass: monitoring progress of tradescantia biocontrol

    Four classical biocontrol agents targeting tradescantia have been present in New Zealand’s environment for up to 14 years.

  6. Biocontrol of giant reed encounters hurdles

    The team in the BSI have been exploring options for biocontrol of giant reed (Arundo donax) in both the Pacific and New Zealand, but success remains elusive. Giant reed is a tall, woody, Eurasian grass that now occurs in tropical, subtropical, and warm temperate regions on all continents except Anta...

  7. More countries in the Pacific identify their top weeds for biocontrol

    Two countries in the Pacific, Papua New Guinea (PNG) and the Solomon Islands, recently held workshops to determine their top priority weeds for biocontrol. Both countries are home to some of the world’s richest biodiversity, but their unique flora and fauna and ecosystems are being threatened by inv...

  8. Register now for ISBCW 2026!

    Next year, the Bioeconomy Science Institute will be hosting the International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds (ISBCW) from 8-13 March 2026 in Rotorua.

  9. African tulip tree beetle exceeds early expectations in Rarotonga

    In mid-June, two Bioeconomy Science Institute, Manaaki Whenua Group staff, Quentin Paynter and Lynley Hayes, travelled to Rarotonga to monitor the establishment and spread of the African tulip tree beetle (Paradibolia coerulea).

  10. It’s time to tackle lagarosiphon

    More than 10 years after first proposing to target lagarosiphon (Lagarosiphon major) for biocontrol, MW-BSI has finally started preparing a release application for the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA).