More beetles for Tongariro heather in spring

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 13, Issue 634, 30 April 1996, Page 3

More beetles for Tongariro heather in spring

Ten more Tongariro National Park sites are to become home for the heather beetle, Lochmaea suturalis, in November, following the release of 250 beetles at two sites in January. Department of Conservation staff released the beetles at two sites, one on the eastern and one on the western side of the park, chosen for close monitoring of the beetle' s survival and effects. The hope is that the beetle larva will browse on the heather foliage and reduce its competitive advantage over other native species. The heather blankets the western and much of the northern and eastern flanks of the park which could lead to

local extinction of some species of insects and plants. The project is the first "bio-control agent" to be introduced into DoC land specifically to control a problem weed. Heather was deliberately spread in the park to try to create a moorland habitat for grouse, from around 1912. Opposition to this modification of the tussock landscape grew, until in 1927 an act of Parliament put a stop to the deliberate spreading of the plant. While the heather continued to thrive with no natural means of checking its spread, the grouse did not get established.