[farmfriend]

Rights, farms, environment ping.
Let me know if you wish to be added or removed from this list.
I don't get offended if you want to be removed.

[Samwise]

Of dear. Haven't the enviro nuts learned anything from their past mistakes?

[RIGHT IN LAS VEGAS]

I only advise a foreign beetle that consumes all State Govenments with the House, Senate and every other fed-gov in Washinghton, DC.

Then the beetle dies.

Hopefully truth is working on this as we speak.

[Aracelis]

Hmmm...attempting to kill off one non-native species with another non-native species. Perhaps the Feds would care to take a lesson from the introduction of the mongoose to Hawaii.

[SpyGuy]

Of course, this will lead to yet another eco-disaster (with the beetles taking over and destroying native vegetation and/or killing native insect species).

Furthermore, I bet that if these beetles are successful at devoring the salt-cedar plant, then the enviro-wackos will rush in and declare the salt-cedar an endangered species, thus forcing water to be re-routed from farms to try to revive the dying weed.

[JOE43270]

Here we go again, the government led by the EPA is going to save us.

[1john2 3and4]

from: http://wric.ucdavis.edu/exotic/techtran/juli.htm#release

Generalist predators were seen attacking D. elongata in most of the field cages.Jumping spiders (Salticidae) and ants were the most common predators, however assassin bugs were also seen attacking adult beetles in Texas.At the Independence, CA site, some sleeve cages became infested with ants, and all the larvae were killed.Outside the sleeves, however, beetle larvae were seen dropping from the foliage when approached by ants.These larvae may have avoided predation but perhaps increased the risk of mortality from other factors. The greatest mortality factor in the field cages was not predators but leafhoppers, which acted as competitors and killed the saltcedar foliage, causing D. elongata to starve.

and this; Federal authorities have not yet given approval to use the beetles outside of cages because of concerns over how they may affect the breeding habitat of the southwestern willow flycatcher. The endangered species has been nesting in salt cedars in some areas for lack of native trees. The bird is not found along the Pecos River. from: http://www.canoe.com/CNEWSScience0003/02_ceder.html

maybe the articles are somewhat dated, i did this quickly...but the beetle's "out of the barn" already, isnt it? (also, why "import" when the leafhoppers do the job? this is crazy)

[Zuben Elgenubi]

Selective use of paraquat to stop the salt cedar.

[In_25_words_or_less]

"Hmmm, we could introduce kudzu to the South to control erosion . . ."

[Zuben Elgenubi]

I should also tell you that one of the best assignments I've had is in Maryland. It was a delivery system of 2,4-D and 2,4-T and we were successful.

The best assignment was in the formulation of avermection insecticide for Merck (under contract). About 62% of my knowledge resides in the delivery system. The rest is tech.

[Jimbaugh]

Can anyone see how this could go badly ! ! !

[Carry_Okie]

Biocontrols only work if they are host specific. That doesn't preclude them from developing other tastes. No successful biocontrol destroys its host. If it did, it would seek substitutes. In general, not a good idea.