Biocontrol

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 Aotearoa New Zealand’s environment, and ...

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ARTICLE

Insect antennae

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. But insects don’t only use their antennae to smell. They ...

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ARTICLE

Parasitoid wasp life cycle

Introduced wasps cause all sort of problems for people and native species, but did you know we have native wasps in New Zealand? Rights: Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research, CC-BY 4.0 Certonotus ...

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ARTICLE

Biological control of possums – introduction

Possums are one of New Zealand's biggest pests. Currently they are controlled by poisoning and trapping, but this is expensive and ongoing. Biological control has the potential to provide novel ...

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ACTIVITY

Biotechnology basics quiz

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 bread, fermented grapes to make wine and ...

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TEACHER PLD

Tame Malcolm – indigenous pest management

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 Whakaue) about his work ...

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VIDEO

Bees and varroa

Watch varroa mites (white juveniles and brown adults) on honey bees and learn how they spread viruses that kill bee colonies. Dr Mark Goodwin of Plant & Food Research shows hives being ...

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ARTICLE

Weeds – threats to native ecosystems

We all know about the threats that predators like possums, rats and stoats pose to New Zealand's native ecosystems, but did you know different exotic weeds are threatening our ecosystems too? The ...

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QUIZ

Biotechnology quiz

Answer the questions in this quiz to find out how much you know about biotechnology.

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ARTICLE

Amazing ryegrass

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 about ryegrass? Ryegrass is an important ...

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ARTICLE

Fighting a little bee mite

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 which live on the outside of honey bees and their ...

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ARTICLE

Bioforce – breeding bugs for biocontrol

New Zealand might be an island nation, but that doesn’t stop us from having to deal with a variety of unwanted organisms that find their way to our shores. These pests range from insects like the ...

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ARTICLE

Vaccines to reduce possum fertility

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 Otago ...

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TEACHER PLD

Weeds and native ecosystems – a context for learning

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 Zealand. Some of these are highly ...

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VIDEO

Bioforce

Bioforce Product Manager Chris Thompson and Research and Development Manager Bruno Gatimel outline the products supplied by Bioforce and some of the methods for growing biocontrol agents for the ...

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ARTICLE

Irish wasp to the rescue

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 have saved farmers nearly half a billion dollars. An ...

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ARTICLE

Biocontrol of the New Zealand pea crab

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 green-lipped mussels. Using this ...

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ACTIVITY

Finding a female

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 and back again. Purpose This activity will help ...

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TEACHER PLD

Biocontrol in action – unit plan

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 for clover root ...

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VIDEO

Parastrongyloides trichosuri: A possum parasite

These roundworms live in the digestive system of possums. They are found naturally in possums in the North Island of New Zealand, and don't appear to harm the possums. Scientists are hoping that ...

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ARTICLE

Hormone-toxins to reduce possum fertility

Scientists in New Zealand investigated whether a roundworm parasite could be used to deliver a hormone toxin to possums. This article looks at the research by scientists at AgResearch. They ...

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ARTICLE

Improving Aotearoa New Zealand’s biosecurity detection

This article has been republished from The Conversation under Creative Commons licence CC BY-ND 4.0 and is written by Dr Angela (Ang) McGaughran, Senior Lecturer in Population Genomics ...

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ARTICLE

Delivering biocontrol agents to possums

Here, we describe transmissible and non-transmissible methods for delivering biocontrol agents to possums. Scientists in New Zealand investigated a range of biocontrol agents to reduce possum ...

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ARTICLE

Kiwi Forever – a conservation camp

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 key focus was ...

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