Leafy Spurge
By Naomi Tang
What is Leafy Surge?
What does it Look Like?
My Action Plan
Goal: get rid of all or most of the leafy spurge in Canada without harming the enviroment
Get rid of leafy spurge using biological control and herbicides.
We can...
- transport brown dotted beetles to Canada and release them in areas with lots of leafy spurge
- mow the leafy spurge that has been eaten every 3-5 months
- get farmers to allow their sheep to graze on leafy spurge
- buy sheep
- apply herbicides to areas infested with leafy spurge
- dig up leafy spurge plants
- can't use large machinery in wildlife areas. it might harm other living species.
How long will this take?
2016-2030
This should take about 14 years because:
a) we have to capture and transport thousands of beetles to Canada
b) it will take a while for the beetles to eat all of the leafy spurge in Canada
c) herbicides will have to be applied multiple times a year before the plant is completely gone
Who will be responsible for making sure this plan works?
- Funding/cost
- Buying any needed materials/resources
- People to do the work
- People to do the work
- Cost
- Report any sightings of leafy spurge that the government doesn't know about
- Volunteer to help
What we need to make this happen?
- 9,000 beetles (Flea or Brown dot) - cost around $12,000-$15,000 + more if 9,000 is not progressing fast enough
- cages/container to keep beetles in - cost around $600
- truck to transport supplies in - government or organization should already have
- gas to fuel the truck - around $100
- people to drive truck, put beetles in cages, release beetles, decide where to release beetles,dig up plants, apply herbicides, etc.
- lawn mowers - cost around $400-$500 for 1
- herbicides - $1,000,000
How we can track our progress and what happens after we reach our goal
Ways we can save money
- not use sheep because if they get sick that would result in someone having to pay medical bills which can cost A LOT
- if we do buy sheep buy don't buy dolan sheep because they cost up to $2.2 million. We could buy another type of sheep for less than $450
- government has lawn mowers then we won't have to buy new ones
- if government already has some of the supplies we need use to use rather tan buy new ones.
Why should we start now?
Why is this the best plan
- Using some biological control is better than using just chemicals that can harm the environment. We are trying to help the environment not harm it.
- The beetles will not become a problem because they have been tested and are not going to harm other species
- Leafy spurge is the ONLY source of food for the beetles eat. If they are unable to find any more they will die.
- It is less work because we are letting the beetles some of the work
- according to Goodwin, Sheley, Norwierski, and Lym "Aphthona nigriscutis (flea beetles) have been most successful in establishing and controlling leafy spurge in dry, open, sandy-loam sites in Canada and the United States."
Bibliography
http://natureconservancy.ca January 6,2016
Bugs in Cyberspace 2016 Beetles
http://shop.bugsincyberspace.com/ January 7,2016
Amazon 2016 Milestone Specialty Herbcide with Aminopyrald for Noxious and Invasive Weeds-Quart 6666085
http://www.amazon.com/ January 7, 2016
Mike Cowbrough- Chief Weed Inspector Ontario Weeds Act/OMAFRA March 2003 Noxious Weeds Profile - Leafy Spurge
http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/ January 18, 2016
Kim Goodwin, Roger Sheley, Robert Nowierski and Rodney Lym 2001 Leafy Spurge: Biology, Ecology and Management
http://www.sheepinstitute.montana.edu/articles/eb134.pdf January 19,2016
Department of Entomology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada 2010 Parasitism of the biological control agent Hyles euphorbiae (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) by Winthemia datanae (Diptera: Tachinidae): a new host record
http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/ January 19,2016
My Little Sheep Farm 2013 For Sale
http://www.mylittlesheep.com/ January 19,2016