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27 May 2012, 09:09 PM | Xinhua
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=wasp_b_27_05_2012.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/wasp_b_27_05_2012.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>Beijing: Forestry scientists have released eight lakh wasps into Asia's largest
wild fruit forest in China this summer, hoping they will kill many of the beetles threatening it. The wild fruit forest,
covering 9,600 hectares, is located on Mount Tianshan along the Ili River valley in the country's far western Xinjiang
Uygur autonomous region.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=2c83fa94bb9fb0a801459595957c49171-617x412.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/2c83fa94bb9fb0a801459595957c49171-617x412.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Having a wide variety of apple trees, it is also one of the world's largest wild apple gene pools, Xinhua reported. The
fruit yield declined in the forest since 1990s, when apple seedlings from east Shandong province that carried Agrilus
mali, a type of jewel beetle that feeds on the trunks of apple trees, were planted in the area.
Pruning and spraying pesticides failed to dent the population of Agrilus mali who had no natural enemies in the area.
Thousands of fruit trees had been damaged, and more would wither if the pests continued to reproduce, forestry
bureau officials said.
In June 2010, experts introduced parasitic wasps for the first time. So far, over 20 lakh wasps have been released into
the forest. The wasps lay eggs on the beetles after killing them, and their larva can later feed on the dead bodies,
according to experts. They said although at the testing stage, the measure has already yielded positive results.
The forestry bureau of the autonomous prefecture has also used wasps successfully to solve a beetle problem on the
south bank of the Ili River.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=wasp_b_27_05_2012.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/wasp_b_27_05_2012.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>Beijing: Forestry scientists have released eight lakh wasps into Asia's largest
wild fruit forest in China this summer, hoping they will kill many of the beetles threatening it. The wild fruit forest,
covering 9,600 hectares, is located on Mount Tianshan along the Ili River valley in the country's far western Xinjiang
Uygur autonomous region.
<a href="http://s1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/?action=view&current=2c83fa94bb9fb0a801459595957c49171-617x412.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1267.photobucket.com/albums/jj559/365Wildfire/2c83fa94bb9fb0a801459595957c49171-617x412.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>
Having a wide variety of apple trees, it is also one of the world's largest wild apple gene pools, Xinhua reported. The
fruit yield declined in the forest since 1990s, when apple seedlings from east Shandong province that carried Agrilus
mali, a type of jewel beetle that feeds on the trunks of apple trees, were planted in the area.
Pruning and spraying pesticides failed to dent the population of Agrilus mali who had no natural enemies in the area.
Thousands of fruit trees had been damaged, and more would wither if the pests continued to reproduce, forestry
bureau officials said.
In June 2010, experts introduced parasitic wasps for the first time. So far, over 20 lakh wasps have been released into
the forest. The wasps lay eggs on the beetles after killing them, and their larva can later feed on the dead bodies,
according to experts. They said although at the testing stage, the measure has already yielded positive results.
The forestry bureau of the autonomous prefecture has also used wasps successfully to solve a beetle problem on the
south bank of the Ili River.
