[MAIPC] biological control for Japanese Honeysuckle

[Richard Gardner]

 From my field experience there is a fungal pathogen already destroying Lonicera japonica in the mid-Atlantic region as well as the bush honeysuckles L. maackii, L. morrowii and L. tartica, along with an aphid I see almost every time I walk locally. I strongly suggest we walk before tinkering, adding new non-natives to ecological systems already flooded with non-natives. Our short-sighted tinkering has caused numerous problems in the past and will do so in the future. For every hour we think about tinkering we should spend at least one hundred hours walking to understand our ecosystems before we even consider interfering with that which we do not understand.
I have been thinking of leaving this group because of the misguided emphasis on biocontrol instead of measured and thoughtful research. We need to get back to the basics of Science which is the acquisition of knowledge before doing anything potentially permanently damaging to our ecosystems.
                                                   Richard Gardner
    On Saturday, April 20, 2019, 10:26:24 AM EDT, Marc Imlay <ialm at erols.com> wrote:  
 
 
A butterfly is being used in New Zealand to control Japanese Honeysuckle. It is probably not host specific for America. But be on the look out for a native American moth or pathogen controlling Japanese Honeysuckle in America.  As Matt says “Also the more eyes we have looking for severe dieback events, the better our odds.”

  

Marc Imlay, PhD, 

Chair, MAIPC Biological Control Working Group 

Natural Places Committee Chair, Maryland Sierra Club

Conservation Biologist, Park Ranger Office, Non-native Invasive Plant Control Coordinator. 

Natural and Historical Resources Division

The Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission

  

  

JAPANESE HONEYSUCKLE APPLICATION (WHITE ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY)



An application to release the white admiral butterfly (Limenitis glorifica) was approved by the EPA in August 2013. This is the first of several proposed biocontrol agents that will work together to help control Japanese honeysuckle in New Zealand.

https://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/science/plants-animals-fungi/plants/weeds/biocontrol/approvals/completed/japanese-honeysuckle

  

From: Tancos, Matthew - ARS <Matthew.Tancos at ARS.USDA.GOV> 
Sent: Wednesday, March 27, 2019 4:03 PM
To: ialm at erols.com; Jil Swearingen <jilswearingen at gmail.com>
Subject: Biological control of invasive weeds

  

Hello Marc and Jil,

  

Things have started to settle down with the new position, and I wanted to reach out to the both of you. Just to clarify, our mission has switched from investigating foreign pathogens to exclusively focusing on endemic pathogens to control invasive weed populations. Due to my limited staff and resources, I won’t be able to target all of these important invasive species at once (multiple stakeholders). However, I plan to focus my efforts on several key players and hope we are able to identify some promising pathogens. Identifying a potential pathogen will require being at the right place at the right time when disease initially develops; however, I remain optimistic!  We are currently evaluating some pathogens for swallow-wort, Japanese hop, mile-a-minute, oriental bittersweet, and Japanese honeysuckle. I would really like to target invasive weeds colonizing wetland and riparian environments due to the importance of the Chesapeake Bay to our region. 

  

I think it will be very challenging to identify a promising pathogen on wavyleaf basketgrass due to its recent introduction. Approximately 30 years isn’t a lot of time for a new pathogen to emerge, but maybe I’m wrong. I would also be interested in looking at Ranunculus ficaria due to its ability to really outcompete in wetland/riparian environments. I can’t make any promises as to finding a potential pathogen, but we can give it a shot! Also the more eyes we have looking for severe dieback events, the better our odds.

  

Best,

-Matt

  

  

    Matthew A. Tancos, PhD.

    Research Plant Pathologist

    USDA Agricultural Research Service

    Foreign Disease-Weed Science Research Unit

    1301 Ditto Avenue

    Fort Detrick, MD 21702

    Tel: 301-619-2866

  






|  | Virus-free. www.avast.com  |

 _______________________________________________
MAIPC mailing list
MAIPC at lists.maipc.org
http://lists.maipc.org/listinfo.cgi/maipc-maipc.org
  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.maipc.org/pipermail/maipc-maipc.org/attachments/20190420/c5b78ba7/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.jpg
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 264420 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://lists.maipc.org/pipermail/maipc-maipc.org/attachments/20190420/c5b78ba7/attachment-0001.jpg>