In Rhode Island, Lisa Tewksbury and Richard Casagrande (Univ. of Rhode Island) have tracked the effects of the three species in a wetland where purple loosestrife had taken over. Two beetle species, Galerucella calmariensis and Galerucella pusilla, quickly became established at the site. These small beetles reproduce yearly, and the larvae feed on leaves, stems, and buds. Within four years, they had significantly inhibited the growth of the original stand of purple loosestrife.
Purple loosestrife is a remarkably resilient plant and new shoots were already beginning to sprout by the end of the summer.  Galerucella beetles will also be back next summer to again defoliate the new stems that emerge.   The reduced growth of purple loosestrife will afford native plants a competitive advantage and we anticipate a sharp decline in the loosestrife population over the next few years, thanks to Galerucella.

At The Good Earth, we have noticed in the past year a dramatic increase in the Purple Loosestrife in our fields and wetlands and have partnered with NRCS (The Natural Resources Conservation Service) to introduce The Beetles here to bring it under control and help the beautiful native plants to re-establish themselves.

Lisa Tewksbury will be here on Thursday July 8th to release The BEETLES...
We'll have some tasty Bug Juice on hand and will take a tour of the gardens abd vegetable patch after the release of the BEETLES...we hope you'll join us.