Click here to return to main homepage. An unusual biological control project where an Australian insect was sent overseas to control a tropical pest has been deemed a huge success. We are very pleased with the result, in just one year the ladybird beetles have knocked out the scale. We expect that breadfruit yields will recover over the next year or two. Dr Sands said that the mealy bug was probably accidentally introduced into the Pacific Islands during the second world war.
Experts believe that it originated from somewhere near India.
By the 1980's, without its own natural enemies, it had become serious pest of breadfruit and other crops on the Pacific coral islands of Micronesia and Kiribati. This means that the bugs are destroying the island's staple foodstuff. The soil of the coral atolls is very low on nutrients. This means that few vegetables apart from breadfruit are able to grow in sufficient quantities to feed the people. An earlier biocontrol attempt, where an Asian ladybird beetle was introduced to Micronesia only achieved temporary control, apparently because it was unable to adapt to the new conditions.