Toti Conservancy members, Gill van Wyk and Corinne Winson, together with support from Khumbuzile Luthuli and Bongani Nzama of the natural resources department of parks and recreation released batches of the pereskia flea beetle in patches of Barbados gooseberry found in the area last month.
“Bongani went to inspect the areas in Umgababa where we released the beetles and he reported they are breeding and their numbers have increased,” said Gill. “We are very thrilled and it points to a successful release.”
Another 60 beetles were released into the area from eggs bred from beetles that Gill held back from release. “These eggs should have hatched by now and this should have a positive effect on the alien plants.”
Gill requested the beetles from the South African Sugarcane Research Institute (SASRI) about three months ago. Nine containers arrived last month with 10 beetles in each.
SASRI is a world-renowned agricultural research institute based at Mount Edgecombe, which provides a link between researchers and sugarcane farmers and offers a range of services including fertiliser advice, disease diagnoses and education courses.
Both the adults and larvae flea beetles feed on the pereskia leaves and shoots and this will stunt the plant’s growth and eventually kill it off.
