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Sawfly Controlled

Biological control has been successfully used in New Zealand to control the Eucalyptus leaf-mining sawfly, the larvae of which can stunt or kill eucalyptus trees.

The sawfly first appeared in Auckland in 1985 and quickly spread through much of the North Island. Eucalyptus is used for short-fibre pulp by the North Island pulp and paper industry, and it was the potential threat to this industry which prompted the Ministry of Forestry to introduce the sawfly's natural enemy in an attempt to control the pest.

A small orange and black parasitic insect, the bracon, was introduced to Tauranga in 1988, and sawfly has since been virtually eliminated from the area. Further introductions have been successful in controlling sawfly throughout the North Island.

In February this year, the bracon was introduced to sawfly-infested trees in Picton to prevent the spread of the pest in the South Island. Murray Turbitt, of the Ministry of Forestry in Blenheim, said that the bracon seems to have established itself and should stop sawfly from spreading in the South Island.

Janine Griffin