Collective effort to help remove invasive weed from Tutaenui Reservoir

Keen gardeners will probably be familiar with Tradescantia, otherwise known as “wandering Jew” (which for obvious reasons is being phased out) or “wandering willie”.

It’s a succulent, brittle weed that originates from South America and is known for its fast growth and thick mats of vegetation, which prevents seedlings from native trees and shrubs from establishing.

Herbicides and pesticides have varying success against Tradescantia, but it does have a natural and more effective predator in the Tradescantia Leaf Beetle, which feeds off the leaves and helps to control it spreading.

These awesome critters are host specific, which means they don’t eat anything other than Tradescatia and some closely related species. So, they’re highly effective at controlling the spread of the weed without damaging any other plants.

Today, Neil Gallagher from Rangitīkei District Council, Rory Johnson from Horizons Regional Council, and Dave Smith from the Tutaenui Stream Restoration Society oversaw the releasing some of these beetles at the Tutaenui Reservoir, where Tradescantia has been causing issues for a number of years now. Yellow spotted fungus was also released, which is proven to be a knockout combination with the beetles.

The site the beetles and fungus have been placed in was carefully chosen so that they can establish themselves without interference from human activities. The hope is that if the beetles can be successfully established at the reservoir, they’ll be able to do the grunt work of removing Tradescantia for years to come.

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Tradescantia
Tradescantia Leaf Beetle
Weedbusters

From left to right, David Smith (TSRS), Rory Johnson (HRC) and Neil Gallagher (RDC)