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2021 Weed Biocontrol articles

  1. Remembering Robin van Zoelen

    Sadly, Robin van Zoelen, a Biosecurity Officer for Tasman District Council, and a stalwart of the National Biocontrol Collective (NBC), passed away in September aged 64. Rob had battled leukaemia on and off for 12 years. He was so passionate about weed biocontrol that he chose to leave his sick bed...

  2. It is a Numbers Game for the Field Horsetail Weevil

    Fortunately for the Rangitikei Horsetail Group and New Zealand farmers, it appears the field horsetail weevil (Grypus equiseti) plays a numbers game. The group, chaired by Ferryview Farm manager Alistair Robertson, was formed to target field horsetail for biocontrol due to difficulties with controll...

  3. Tackling Moluccan Albizia for the Pacific

    Moluccan albizia (Falcataria moluccana) is a fast growing, nitrogen-fixing tree native to the eastern islands of the Indonesian archipelago, Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. It was introduced to the Pacific region to provide shade and nutrients to crops, to stop erosion, to reforest degrade...

  4. Summer Activities

    Summer is a busy time for many biocontrol agents, so you might need to schedule the following activities.

  5. The Old Man’s Beard Mite Has Finally Landed

    “Well, finally it has happened”. These were the words of Craig Davey (Horizons Regional Council) after the first release of the old man’s beard mite (Aceria vitalbae) took place in Rangitikei in the North Island in September. This is more than 10 years after the mite was first imported into containm...

  6. Permit for Rust Export Renews Hope for Biocontrol of Chilean Needle Grass

    In 2011, we received permission from the Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) to release a rust fungus (Uromyces pencanus) as a biocontrol agent for Chilean needle grass (Nassella neesiana). Little did we imagine that it would be 10 more years before we received permission from the Argentinean g...

  7. A Travel Bubble Spells Freedom for a Long-Awaited Beetle for the Cook Islands

    The opening of New Zealand’s travel bubble with the Cook Islands was welcome news for many. For one thing, it meant the long-awaited first release of the African tulip tree flea beetle (Paradibolia coerulea) could finally take place. After an extended stay in containment both in South Africa and at ...

  8. Beetling Ahead with Chilean Flame Creeper

    Despite being a spanner in the works for many of our weed biocontrol projects, Covid hasn’t halted progress on exploring biocontrol options for Chilean flame creeper (Tropaeolum speciosum). After a promising leaf-feeding chrysomelid beetle (Blaptea elguetai) was found on this new target weed in Chil...

  9. Identity Crisis for a Weed of the Pacific

    Taro vine, also known as Devil’s ivy, is a perennial epiphyte (a plant that uses another plant as a substrate) of tropical and subtropical regions that has become invasive in many countries and territories in the Pacific, including the Cook Islands, Hawai’i, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Samo...

  10. Spring Activities

    Most biocontrol agents become active during spring, making it a busy time of year to check release sites and move agents around.