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Fishery Office Assists Refuge With Loosestrife Biocontrol
Midwest Region, June 23, 2004
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The Ashland Fishery Resources Office assisted Whittlesey Creek National Wildlife Refuge in preparing for a biocontrol treatment of purple loosestrife recently found at the mouth of Whittlesey Creek, a tributary of Chequamegon Bay of Lake Superior. Refuge technician Mike Mlynarek and fishery technician Gary Czypinski traveled by canoe to the mouth of Whittlesey Creek, and transplanted 12 young loosestrife plants into drainable plastic pots. The 12 loosestrife transplants were then transported by canoe 1/4-mile to a road access point where they were transported overland to refuge headquarters at the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center. The pots were placed into three small plastic child size swimming pools filled with three inches of water. Insect netting was attached to each potted plant in preparation for beetle introduction, and a display was erected describing the biocontrol process to the visiting public. Technician Mlynarek siphoned 10 beetles (each about 1 mm in length) at a time from a jar into a screened soda straw, and blew all 10 beetles into each netted pot. The netting was then closed off, and over the next six weeks the newly introduced adult beetles will lay their eggs. The hatching larvae will burrow into the plant, consuming and eventually killing the loosestrife as they grow to adulthood. After this six week period (late July), the 12 infected loosestrife plants will then be transported by canoe back to the mouth of Whittlesey Creek, where they will be transplanted back among the invading loosestrife. The newly emerging adult beetles will then spread and infect the entire colony of loosestrife. The beetles will die off naturally after the loosestrife colony is eradicated. Loosestrife biocontrol is effective, inexpensive, and requires a relatively small investment in labor.

Contact Info: Midwest Region Public Affairs, 612-713-5313, charles_traxler@fws.gov



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