Toadflax Stem Weevil on Dalmation Toadflax

DID YOU KNOW?  BLM Idaho is using bugs to control invasive plant species!  These specially-adapted bugs are known as biological control agents.  Some of the invasive plants in Idaho and their corresponding “bombastic bugs” include:

• Dalmation Toadflax – Toadflax Stem Weevil
• Rush Skeletonweed – Root Moth ‘Bradyrrhoa Gilveolella’
• Leafy Spurge – Leafy Spurge Red-Headed Stem Borers

2^nd FUN FACT:  “The toadflax stem weevil has reduced Idaho Dalmatian Toadflax populations by 97%. The adult female beetle lays eggs in the stems where larvae develop, pupate and burrow out of the stem each spring, decimating the plant.”  – Joey Milan, BLM Idaho Entomologist (via Facebook).

Check out the BLM Idaho’s Facebook page to find out why Dalmation Toadflax needs to be eliminated from public lands, here:  https://www.facebook.com/BLMIdaho

We can thank Milan for the following resource links:

Toadflax Info Sheet:  https://bugwoodcloud.org/resource/files/27418.pdf

Toadflax Biocontrol Agents Info Sheet: https://bugwoodcloud.org/resource/files/27419.pdf

University of Idaho Weed Biological Control YouTube Series:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist…

For more information regarding invasive plant species and how they are a risk to native wildlife everywhere, see the BLM blog post ‘Unhealthy Competition’ here:  https://www.blm.gov/blog/2024-02-26/unhealthy-competition

Thanks, again, for reading another Fun Fact Friday post!

Root Moth on Rush Skeletonweed

Leafy Spurge Red-Headed Stem Borers on Leafy Spurge