Weed Warriors
On an auspicious occasion in late summer, an enthusiastic group gathered to meet the new celebrity – Neolema abbreviata. Five years after entering South Africa – much of that period spent in quarantine – the beetle was to appear in public for the first time. Brazilian by origin, it was being released into the Iphithi Nature Reserve to the west of Durban where, as a biological control agent, it would begin initial work to help control the invasive alien spiderwort (Tradescantia fluminensis), a low-growing creeper native to Brazil that has invaded parts of South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and Europe.
Lacking natural enemies outside its home range, spiderwort proliferates rapidly, stifling indigenous undergrowth and preventing the growth of new trees and shrubs. In, on the other hand, feeds exclusively on spiderwort. And so, holding the very important beetles aloft in secure containers, we proceeded to the release site on banks of the Iphithi River. Let loose on their lush pantry, the insects beetled off to tackle the invasion.
