Success Stories
Brazilian Pepper-tree Invasion
Video Transcript
Narrator: "It's a holiday leftover that just won't go away. Back in the 1900s, Brazilian Pepper was brought to Florida as a substitute for English Holly during the Holiday season. But the invasive trees took hold in the native environment and now every year county governments across the state spend millions of dollars to stop the spread of Brazilian Pepper.
"Now University of Florida researchers have a new way to treat this fierce invasive that is cheaper and better for the environment. These small, caterpillar-like insects called sawflies feed on Brazilian Pepper-trees. The insect larvae eat the leaves and can completely defoliate an entire tree. This damage suppresses the growth of younger plants and reduces the spread of Brazilian Pepper.
"Researchers want to release the insects into infested areas instead of treating the trees with herbicide sprays. UF entomologist James Cuda says spraying is expensive and can damage native plants, unlike the insects."
Cuda: "It's very selective. It's very specific. The effects that we're going to see are going to be manifested only on Brazilian Pepper trees. And that's pretty conclusively demonstrated by our testing protocol. And it's environmentally friendly for that reason."
Narrator: "Biological control agents like the sawflies are extensively tested before being released to make sure they won't affect any native plants or animals. The sawflies could save the millions of dollars spent every year to treat Brazilian Pepper in Florida. They're part of a treatment technique called biological control, where natural enemies of a non-native plant are brought into the country and released to control it. But bio-control can't completely clear out Brazilian Pepper."
Cuda: "Bio-control is not going to eradicate the plant--that's a given. It's going to reduce it, bring populations down and hopefully make it less competitive with our native plants and give our native plant species a fair opportunity to compete."
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