Emerald ash borer beetle provides latest threat to N.J. forests
A beetle feeding on purple loosestrife plants growing&
around the lake at Echo Lake Park in Union County.
Mark Mayer releasing beetles on purple loosestrife plants
growing around the lake at Echo Lake Park in Union County.
A butterfly lands on purple loosestrife plants
growing around the lake at Echo Lake Park in Union County.
Paul or Ringo?
What happens when the beetles take over? Will they need to release giant spiders? Then killer snakes to eat the giant spiders?
Groovy Man!
Oh, why should I let you all have all the fun? GLOBAL WARMINGTM.
Another unfortunate headline wording — it could either be read that the beetle is threatening the NJ wetlands, or that the pretty weeds are (and that the beetles are doing a good deed by destroying them). I read the story and got the true sense, though. Thanks.
ALMOST? The devil's in the details.
Purple loosestrife is a scourge here too.
Mankind has taken notice of loosestrife since antiquity. The Greeks thought that garlands of the herb hung around the necks of oxen would encourage a team to plow a field in harmony. More practically, they used the plant in a hair dye and also burned it to drive away insect pests. Because purple loosestrife is rich in tannin, herbalists later employed it for its astringent values as an eyewash and as a remedy for diarrhea. They also used the herb to halt bleeding, a use that may explain its botanical name, Lythrum, from the Greek word for gore.
The astringent purple loosestrife is mainly employed as a treatment for diarrhea and dysentery. Purple loosestrife can be safely taken by people of all ages; some herbalists recommend purple loosestrife to help arrest diarrhea in breast-feeding babies. The herb may also be used to treat heavy menstrual bleeding and for intermenstrual bleeding. Externally, it is applied as a poultice or lotion to wounds, leg ulcers, and eczema, and used to treat excess vaginal discharge and vaginal itching. Purple loosestrife is now rarely used to treat eye problems, but, as Culpeper's experience suggests, purple loosestrife could be worth further investigation for disorders of the eyes and vision.
I’d take that weed any day over Goatheads!
The part they leave out is that the critters second favorite food, after eating all the weeds, is human flesh.
A little too late as, per my mother, they already conquered New Jersey (and the rest of America) 45 years ago.
The law of unintended consequences.
There was an old lady that swallowed a fly...