U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2002





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Pesticide Drift May Endanger Pollinators
- ARS Seeks a Fire Ant Fix
- Scientific Discoveries 2024
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 Click image for caption and other photo information.
Read the magazine story to find out more.
Insect Pair Stalls Everglades Invader
By Alfredo FloresNovember 7, 2002
For years, melaleuca--a fast-growing invasive tree from Australia--has been taking over 14 to 15 acres a day of south Florida's Everglades, making it a significant threat to the stability of this fragile ecosystem.
Now, to the rescue has come a gnat-sized psyllid, Boreioglycaspis melaleucae. This tiny insect is a natural enemy of melaleuca in its native country, and both adults and their offspring feed on the tree's clear sap. Their favorite sap is inside the tips of a melaleuca's newest stems and branches. Young melaleuca seedlings are the most vulnerable to the psyllids' attack, but the pests can also stunt the growth of bigger trees. Their feeding slows down melaleuca seed production by damaging tips that would otherwise form seed capsules.
Some 100,000 psyllids have been released at a variety of south Florida sites, ranging from a cluster of melaleuca trees standing in water to an unusually dry pasture dotted with melaleuca stumps. The psyllids' presence in south Florida is the result of more than five years of research by Agricultural Research Service scientists at the Australian Biological Control Laboratory in Indooroopilly, Australia, near Brisbane; their colleagues with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization; and co-investigators at the ARS Invasive Plant Research Laboratory, headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., with a satellite location in Gainesville, Fla.
Philip W. Tipping, an ARS entomologist at the Fort Lauderdale lab, and colleagues expect the psyllid to complement the efforts of another weed warrior from Australia--the melaleuca leaf weevil, Oxyops vitiosa. Its first release was made in 1997, with 1,600 weevils distributed at 11 melaleuca-infested sites in south Florida. Today, millions of the quarter-inch-long weevils are eating the silvery leaves of melaleuca saplings. Losing leaves stresses the trees and lowers seed production, which can otherwise reach 60 million seeds a year in mature trees.
More about research on these two melaleuca-controlling insects can be found in the November issue of Agricultural Research.
ARS is the U.S. Department of Agriculture's main scientific research agency.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov