biocontrol

In this activity, students play a card game that models the journey of a male pea crab (a parasite of green-lipped mussels) from his mussel host...

Oliver Trottier and Jessica Feickert (Leigh Marine Laboratory) have been working to understand the biology of the New Zealand pea crab, which is a parasite of...

Introduced plant species – friend or foe? This might depend on who is answering the question. Over 25,000 exotic plants have been introduced to Aotearoa New...

The Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment report Space invaders: A review of how New Zealand manages weeds that threaten native ecosystems investigated the growing risk weeds...

In this recorded professional learning session the Science Learning Hub kōrero with Tame Malcolm (Te waka o Te Arawa, Ngāti Tarāwhai, Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Ngararanui, Ngāti...

Introduced wasps cause all sort of problems for people and native species, but did you know we have native wasps in New Zealand? What is a...

Imagine being able to smell your dinner from the other side of a sports field. Insects do this with the pair of antennae on their heads....

Kiwi Forever is a week-long leadership in conservation scholarship based at Tirorangi Marae, Ōhakune. In March 2018, 16 rangatahi (young people) from seven colleges participated. A...

Biotechnology is part of everyday life and has been for thousands of years. People have cultured bacteria to make yoghurt and cheese, used yeasts to make...

A little mite, like a tiny spider the size of a pin head, has been plaguing New Zealand’s bee industry. The mites, called varroa, are parasites...

A parasitic worm that naturally infects possums could be the key to controlling possum numbers in New Zealand. Join Supervader and participants from Wellington’s 2006 Kids’...

A team of scientists from New Zealand and Australia has discovered the way in which a bacterium packages its toxins in a hollow protein shell and...

Biological control or biocontrol is the use of one organism to control the numbers of another. Unwanted or introduced species can have a huge impact on...

Students carry out a practical investigation to help AgResearch scientists monitor the spread of Microctonus aethiopoides (a tiny wasp) and its success as a biocontrol agent...

Ryegrass is an important food for cattle, but it is also a favourite food of competing insects. Can biological control offer a solution? What's so special...

A tiny Irish wasp can now be used as a biological control agent against clover root weevil, following permission from the Environmental Risk Management Authority (ERMA)....

In January 2006, a tiny wasp was released onto a Waikato farm to kill an enemy that was devastating pastures. Ten years on, these tiny wasps...

Introduced Chinese weevils, Cleopus japonicus, are laying waste to large patches of buddleia in the Bay of Plenty, much to the relief of forest growers and...

Students collect information from the public about methods of controlling possum numbers and then present a report on the use of biocontrol. Purpose Although the active...

Students of any level develop a board game illustrating knowledge of New Zealand’s possum problem and the strategies used to control it – including biocontrol strategies....

A list of terms used in our content on the biological control of possums. Antibodies Antigen Bacterial ghosts Biological control or biocontrol Contraceptive vaccine Corpus luteum...

Here, we explain the function of reproductive proteins GnRH and ZP. These proteins are targets for contraceptive vaccines, investigated in New Zealand to help reduce possum...

Here, we explain how contraceptive vaccines for possums are made and how they work. Possums are a major pest in New Zealand, so scientists investigated the...

The advantages and disadvantages of using a vaccine to reduce possum fertility are explained here. Researchers in New Zealand, at AgResearch, Landcare Research, Victoria University and...