CONTROL purple loosestrife
CONTROL purple loosestrife
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Release the power of beetles
Release the power of beetles
Raise and release beetles to help control the wetland invasive purple loosestrife.
Raise and release beetles to help control the wetland invasive purple loosestrife.
Southeast Wisconsin is home to an estimated 53,000 acres of wetlands that sustain wildlife, filter pollutants, absorb floodwater, provide areas to hunt, paddle and bird watch, and more.
Purple loosestrife, a restricted invasive species threatens the health of our wetlands:
Crowd out native cattails and sedges
Reduce food, shelter and nesting sites for wildlife
Reduce fishing, hiking and boating access
Costly to control and manage
Volunteers Beetle Ranchers raise and release Galerucella beetles to control populations of purple loosestrife. By releasing beetles, we are deploying the best long-term control for the plant, reducing the need for other more costly and disruptive methods like herbicides or large-scale digging.
Why become a Beetle Rancher?
Why become a Beetle Rancher?
Help our restore wetland health by reducing the impacts of purple loosestrife
Learn how to raise and release beetles
Contribute to invasive plant management
Connect more meaningfully with plants and insects
Enjoy more time outside
Requirements
Requirements
One hour a week from April to July individuals, groups or families will water and care for purple loosestrife plants and beetles.
A sunny location near a water source with enough room for a kiddie pool (45" diameter).
Submit monitoring data to the Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System (SWIMS).
How to get started
How to get started
- Attend a Training
Complete an in-person workshop or schedule a one-on-one training to learn how to raise beetles and to receive your rearing kid. Sign up by filling out a volunteer interest form.
➡️ Check out the Biocontrol Program Overview video.
2. Collect, Raise, Release
2. Collect, Raise, Release
Dig purple loosestrife rootstock in early spring. Pot the plants and place them in a kiddie pool to simulate a wetland.
Collect parent beetles in May and add them to the plants to eat and lay eggs.
Release new adult beetles in mid-summer on patches of purple loosestrife. There they will feed on the leaves and prevent it from flowering and going to seed.
Record where and when you release the beetles using the Purple Loosestrife Beetle Release form.
3. Monitor
3. Monitor
Revisit the release site in late summer or fall to record how much damage the beetles have done to the patch of purple loosestrife. Take photos and record notes on the Purple Loosestrife Beetle Presence and Activity Report form.
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