Post by wollastoni on Nov 30, 2016 17:56:46 GMT
www.newscientist.com/article/2114573-new-zealand-is-the-first-country-to-wipe-out-invasive-butterfly/
The kind of articles that make me nervous, I can understand that the NZgovernment want to try and stop the arrival of Pieris brassicae but :
. "Killing was done by using insecticide spray, and care was taken not to destroy any native butterfly species. " --> SURE ! Your native butterflies will love those insecticides !
. " Wasps that attack P. brassicae were also released in 2015 to bolster the efforts" --> GREAT ! And we are 100% sure you have ckecked that these wasps won't eat any of your local insects.... yes, we are sure...
. "Since the NZ$3 million campaign finished in December 2014, careful searches have not found any more great white butterflies. “We’re confident we can declare them eradicated,” says Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy."
--> SURE ... 2 seasons to take a conclusion like this one... true that your campaign has costed NZ$3 M but come on... be serious
. “If none have been seen for two years despite intensive searches, that is a reasonable claim,” says Myron Zalucki at the University of Queensland, Australia." --> SURE, SURE, SURE. Have this Myron already looked for butterflies to say this ?
And the best :
"Similarly, another pest butterfly in New Zealand – the small white butterfly (Pieris rapae) – is believed to be too firmly established to eliminate."
So these guys has spend 3 Million NZ$ to spray insecticides, introduce non-native predators to eliminate a non-native butterfly which eats plants... that are already treated and will remain treated to fight against another butterfly....
+ Pieris brassicae living in Asia, I am sure he will come back every 2 year by boat... but it will be the occasion to put more insecticide sprays and parasitic wasps in NZ.