Hundreds of blue heliotrope leaf feeding beetles have been collected in a project by Central West Local Land Services and local councils which is aimed at building beetle numbers to help tackle the problem weed.
Central West Local Land Services Regional Weeds Coordinator Jodie Lawler and Mixed Farming Officer Callen Thompson are working with Castlereagh Macquarie County Council Senior Weeds Officer Andrea Fletcher on the project which is funded by the NSW Government Weeds Action Program.
The beetles will initially be housed in custom-made cages in the Warrumbungle area to closely monitor them and build up numbers before being transferred to selected sites across the Central West region, Mrs Lawler said.
“We have built eight cages for the beetles which will act as nursery sites to try and build up their numbers,” Mrs Lawler said.
“Once the numbers have increased we will look to distribute beetles to councils to house in appropriate areas.”
Providing technical advice for the project Mr Thompson said that given the beetles were collected from field conditions he hoped they would have a greater likelihood of surviving than those raised in laboratories.
“NSW Department of Primary Industries and CSIRO have previously released blue heliotrope leaf beetles but unfortunately they did not persist in our region,” Mr Thompson said.
“We hope to introduce them in suitable parts of the region which can then be used as nurseries.
“We know the beetles tend to like moist areas with soft soil often near creek beds where there is blue heliotrope thriving as they feed on the leaves and flowers.
“Obviously the sites will need to be protected from livestock, so we are looking at different sites including travelling stock reserves as well as private and council managed land.”
Given the project was in early days the team did not need landholders to volunteer to house beetles just yet.
“We understand there will likely be a lot of interest in this project however there are still a number of unknowns in how successful it will be and what sort of numbers can be generated.
“We hope the project will give us a better understanding of the behaviours of the beetles and conditions it can live in.
“Landholders are advised to continue using existing controls for blue heliotrope management on their properties as this biocontrol is in the very early stages.”
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