Speaking of weeds...What do you think of this?

Dreamfarm · #1 07/20/12, 04:43 PM

Beetle released into Texas ecosystem to combat invasive weeds | The Sideshow - Yahoo! News

Do you think that these insects might eat other plants if the weed they like is gone? I know it says they wont, but how do they really know?

topside1 · #2 07/20/12, 05:08 PM

Most things our Gov't does begins with good intentions and ends in disaster....Who knows this may actually be a positive experiment. I hear tell that when they run out of weed to eat then they eat each other, only one survives. "What do they know?" a lot more than us....I support alligator weed flea beetle and the Army Corps as well....Just a dash of humor, sorry....Topside

agmantoo · #3 07/20/12, 05:43 PM

Most of the following have been impacted by government programs...
I have 29 acres of volunteer Kudzu in SC that I cannot get any support with eradicating. 100 miles away in NC I have a neighbor with Kudzu that is trying to creep onto my beef farm. Kudzu beetles are now eating the soybeans in a nearby field. Starlings are nesting in my metal building gutter work and English sparrows are roosting on my machinery. Nutria are taking over the gulf swamps and armadillos are headed north while fire ants are here. As for beneficial insects, I have bought dung beetles twice while Texas has an abundance and the research was stopped. I guess my confidence faded a long time ago with government ag work and recommendations. I believe I will go check the Japanese beetles on the scuppernong vine.

SCRancher · #4 07/20/12, 07:43 PM

I looked into buying dung beetles but have found I don't need to - they arrived all on their own. This year I found a large metallic green dung beetle prior to this I have only found brown or black small dung beetles.

Won't cows eat Kudzu?

Anyway yes our government has not had much luck with introducing "helpful" plant and animal species.

ycanchu2 · #5 07/21/12, 01:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCRancher

I looked into buying dung beetles but have found I don't need to - they arrived all on their own. This year I found a large metallic green dung beetle prior to this I have only found brown or black small dung beetles.

Won't cows eat Kudzu?

Anyway yes our government has not had much luck with introducing "helpful" plant and animal species.

How do you know if you have dung beatles? My manure piles look like someone has taken a sharp pointed stick and punched it all over ....is that the dung beatle?

SCRancher · #6 07/21/12, 04:08 PM

There are a large variety of dung beetles, not all of them create giant balls of dung and roll them around. I have not seen any "rollers" actually working on my farm, not sure if I have any of them.

A lot of dung beetles live IN the patty eating and drinking and then dig into the ground under the patty to lay their eggs.

Other dung beetles dig on the edges of the patty and pull dung into the hole and lay their eggs in the dung there (like a roller but don't actually create a ball).

Then there are the rollers that most people think of when they picture a dung beetle.

There are lots of different types of dung beetles, I know I have 5 different kinds at my place - I'm pretty certain I have more than that but that's the number of different dung beetles I have seen with my own eyes. I wish I had some of the giant rollers - that would be cool.

Your description of the cow pie is what the dung beetles do.

Just watch a cow pie that is several hours to several days old depending on weather and you will see little beetles coming and going - those are dung beetles.