Insects may control strawberry guava

HONOLULU, May 28 (UPI) -- U.S. Forest Service scientists say they are proposing the release of Brazilian insects to control the spread of strawberry guava across Hawaii.

Service officials said strawberry guava is a South American tree that's invaded and degraded native Hawaiian ecosystems since it was introduced in 1825 as a garden plant. Initial release of the insects is proposed for this summer in the Ola'a Forest Reserve on the Big Island.

Land managers are particularly concerned about the plant because it has potential to invade nearly half the state's land area, forming dense thickets that crowd endangered native species and impede access to residential property. In addition, it hosts non-native fruit flies that have cost the state billions of dollars in lost agricultural revenue.

The forest service said it plans to release the insect Tectococcus ovatus, or the Brazilian scale, which hatches nymphs that settle on strawberry guava leaves, inducing the plant to build a bubble-like gall to enclose it. The plant's vigor is reduced and it stops producing fruit, decreasing its spread during a period of years. The insect does not kill the plant outright.