Brazilian beetles war on weeds

Brazilian beetles war on weeds

One of New Zealand's most widespread weeds IS being attacked, one beetle at a time.

The Brazilian insects are being released nationwide to rid reserves of a tradescantia - otherwise known as wandering willie.

Wandering willie is an invasive weed spread across forest floors, preventing native seedlings from growing.

Kaipatiki Local Board member Danielle Grant and Birkenhead resident Ian Bergquist release the last 200 beetles into the reserve

Auckland Council biosecurity senior adviser Holly Cox says a reserve in Birkenhead is one of the worst cases of infestation she has seen.

The first beetle release was in Auckland in 2011 - but for the first time, a combination of three species were released into Birkenhead on December 1.

About 600 of the shiny, stripy and knobbly beetles were released - 200 of each kind. Each beetle attacks different parts of the weed.

The wandering willie is all that they eat, and afterwards they will either look for more in connecting Birkenhead reserves or die of starvation at the site.

Kaipatiki Local Board member Danielle Grant says it's the 10th release in Auckland. "The previous successful releases over Auckland gave us confidence in the beetles."

Cox says the enthusiasm from the Kaipatiki Resource Network and local board members is why the reserve was chosen. She did not want to reveal the exact location of the reserve to avoid people searching for the beetles. 

This article is published by Stuff. See the origonal article here