Biocontrol Project Reduces Impact of Invasive Purple Loosestrife

If you frequent the Taycheedah Park and Ride in Fond du Lac County, you may have seen a plant with purple flowers bloom in late summer. This plant is called Purple loosestrife and is an invasive species. Native to Europe and Asia, purple loosestrife was introduced into the United States in the early 1800s as an ornamental plant due to its beautiful purple flowers. But soon the plant escaped these gardens and started growing in wild places. With each plant capable of producing over 2.5 million seeds, large populations of plants can quickly dominate wetlands and roadside ditches. Purple loosestrife can out-compete and replace native wetland plants. Like most invasive species, early detection is key to help protect our natural areas.

With the population of the invasive plant growing at the Park and Ride site, the AIS Program at the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance started a Purple loosestrife biological control project at the Taycheedah Park and Ride site. A biological control is the use of one organism to control anther. In the case of Purple loosestrife, there are two beetles (Galerucella calmariensis and G. pusilla) that feed solely on the invasive loosestrife. After years of research, it was determined that the beetles would cause no harm to native plants or animals and was approved for use as a biological control to reduce Purple loosestrife’s impact and spread to other locations. In Wisconsin, this biological control process is the best long-term control for loosestrife, reducing the need for other more costly and disruptive controls, such as herbicides.

The use of the beetles as a biological control has been happening across Wisconsin and other states for decades. This is the first year and first location that the Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) Program at the Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is implementing this project. However, there are several individuals who have been raising and releasing beetles for years to help control the population of Purple loosestrife. We are excited to join the effort to control populations of Purple loosestrife! Help keep an eye on our project site and report any issues to our AIS Coordinator Chris!

Learn about this project from Chris himself!

Learn more about the statewide Purple loosestrife biological control project on the DNR PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE BIOCONTROL WEBPAGE!

Check out some of the photos taken on the day Chris put up the netting below!

Questions? Comments? Contact Chris Acy, the AIS Coordinator covering Brown, Outagamie, Fond du Lac, Calumet, and Winnebago Counties at (920) 460-3674 or chris@fwwa.org!

Follow the Fox Wolf Watershed Alliance’s Winnebago Waterways Program on our Winnebago Waterways Facebook page or @WinnWaterways on Twitter! You can also sign-up for email updates at WinnebagoWaterways.org.

Winnebago Waterways is a Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance program. The Fox-Wolf Watershed Alliance is an independent nonprofit organization that identifies and advocates effective policies and actions that protect, restore, and sustain water resources in the Fox-Wolf River Basin.

Photo Credit: Paul Skawinski, Chris Acy