Biocontrol
Battling weeds with biocontrol
In Aotearoa we talk a lot about mammalian predators attacking our native wildlife, but other insidious pests are quietly taking over – weedy plants. Tackling these weeds using chemical and mechanical… Audio
Our Changing World – The anti-weed agents
Claire Concannon learns about the recruitment of, and research into, biocontrol agents to help in the battle against weeds. Audio
Could a wasp join the fight in the war on weeds?
The Sydney golden wattle is causing havoc in coastal areas around the country. Could a tiny wasp be the answer to getting this invasive weed under control? Audio
Giant willow aphids - a sticky invasive nuisance
Scion entomologists are trialling a parasitic wasp that they hope will control a growing nuisance: the giant willow aphid. Audio
Our Changing World for 29 November 2018
On the hunt for a way to control giant willow aphids which are a sticky nuisance, and noisy seaweeds on coral reefs. Audio
Can an introduced parasitic wasp control a nuisance beetle?
After years of trials, Scion entomologists believe New Zealand could safely introduce a parasitic wasp to control the eucalyptus tortoise beetle. Audio
Our Changing World for 9 August 2018
Finding out if an introduced parasitic wasp could be a biocontrol agent for a pest of eucalpytus trees, and how fossil pollen can tell us about lost worlds. Audio
Stephen Goldson - Wasp v Weevil
Stephen Goldson is a grassland entomologist who works to find ways to suppress exotic pest species running riot in Aotearoa's pastures. In 1991, after a painstaking search and much research, Goldson… Audio
Biocontrol - fighting bad weeds
Seed-eating weevils are one of the latest biocontrol agents introduced into New Zealand to control the invasive weed, Darwin's barberry. Audio
Big hopes for tiny wasp mite
A tiny mite, that could transmit diseases such as viruses, is being investigated as a possible biocontrol agent for introduced social wasps. Audio
Mite-y biocontrol
Landcare Research biocontrol scientists Ronny Groenteman and Bob Brown are looking at the potential of a mite discovered in some wasp nests to be a biocontrol agent to reduce wasp numbers in New… Audio, Gallery