Control of cat's claw vine using tingids
Release December 2007
On December the 2'nd of December 2007 tingids were released on and around a vine covered dead stump near the upper creek bank.Since the release we've had them disturbed by cattle and drowned by flood waters.
Two months later
I examined the area on the 2'nd of February 2008.
The stump has fallen over. The bugs did move from the potted plants to the existing vines but leaf damage was minimal. The bugs are almost locally extinct. I found two small populations of adults or near adults.
Hopefully the numbers will build up again. They have not moved up the trees above the flood line as far as I could see so another big flood is likely to be the end of them.
Last year I also release a few adults near the dairy. One lot in the dairy itself, another in the out-house and third batch on a tree.
There is a small amount of leaf damage at the diary. There is more damage in the out house. No damage at the tree.
I did not find any live bugs but there could well be larvae inside the leaves.
I would have expected a lot more bugs after two months. They aren't doing well so far.
At the creek I also saw leaf damage on the cox-burr, this looks like tingid damage. This may have nothing the do with these bugs but is worth noting. Tingids can hatch an feed on other species but they die before maturing.
Easter 08
Barring more extreme weather our bugs seem to be out of danger. The numbers have built up to perhaps 10 times what I found last time but still not back up to the number originally released. There was no sign of them spreading at all and no movement up into the trees.
Some photos are in the gallery and I took a couple of video clips showing the bugs on the leaves.
27.00 Mb 640*480 clip of Tingids at easter
7.25 Mb 320*240 clip of Tingids at easter
August 2008.
I examined the release site and saw lots of evidence of tingid activity but very few nymphs and no adults. We have had a week of frosts.
I did find lots of leaves with black dots along the stems which are tingid egg laying sites. If these eggs are viable after the cold we should see lots of nymphs as it warms up.
Jayd and co also releases a second batch of bug about 30 meters upstream.
2010
The creek site has been a failure. After two and a half years, two releases and many floods the tigids are probably locally extinct. We recently tried a much smaller release (two potted catsclaw plants) in two different flood free locations. I have no idea if they will breed. If they survive winter chances are good.2011
November,Some minor good news, The bugs seem to have survived at both high release sites. Not spreading wildly but looking promising.
2016
As far as I know the bugs are dead. My last release site got sprayed by accident.There could still be survivors in other places.
I may revisit this project when I move on site - assuming I can find a new source of insects.
Some photos are here
Alan's cat's claw control page is here and a pdf version is here
A poster on the tingids is here
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