Monday, March 03, 2003

Water Hyacinth Biocontrol

National Geographic has this report about the introduction of five different insects to South Africa to fight the invasive water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). The insects, which include the moth Niphograpta albiguttalis, are all native to the Amazon Basin, and each targets a specific part of the plant. Researchers are counting on the bugs to bring populations of the aquatic weed down to manageable proportions. (Bonus points to NG for printing the species names.)

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