NEW EUCALYPTUS LOSS 11 TREES CUT AFTER FALLING VICTIM TO PESTS THAT SLURP SAP.Byline: Judy O'Rourke Special to the Daily News VALENCIA - Eleven eucalyptus trees lining McBean Parkway were axed Monday because city arborists were no match for a tiny but vigilant pest that had attacked them. The bugs have hastened the demise of hundreds of eucalyptus trees around Santa Clarita, including three mature trees in this stand. ``These are mature beautiful trees. We're as heartbroken as the residents who enjoy them,'' said Dennis Luppens, a management analyst for the city. Luppens said 10 of the trees will be replaced with eucalyptus. Arborists were unable to save the sick trees. ``They're very heavy and they pose a threat to motorists, residents and nearby homes,'' Luppens said. ``They can lose a heavy branch with no warning.'' Redgum lerp psyllids suck the sap from eucalyptus leaves through mouths that resemble straws, causing the leaves to fall. Young members of the aphid-like species live under small scaly scal·y adj. 1. Covered or partially covered with scales. 2. Shedding scales or flakes; flaking. scaly skin condition characterized by scales; scalelike. white shells they secrete secrete /se·crete/ (se-kret´) to elaborate and release a secretion. se·crete v. To generate and separate a substance from cells or bodily fluids. of wax and honeydew, called lerps. Substantial shedding can threaten the health of infested in·fest tr.v. in·fest·ed, in·fest·ing, in·fests 1. To inhabit or overrun in numbers or quantities large enough to be harmful, threatening, or obnoxious: eucalyptus trees and may increase their vulnerability to other pest invasions or diseases. Some eucalyptus species are preferred by the insects, others are shunned. Mature insects are light green with orange and yellow splotches, and grow to about one-eighth of an inch long. Since the redgum lerp psyllid was first detected in Los Angeles in 1998, the species has afflicted af·flict tr.v. af·flict·ed, af·flict·ing, af·flicts To inflict grievous physical or mental suffering on. [Middle English afflighten, from afflight, trees across the state. The pests, which originated in Australia, have taken up residence in Florida and Mexico. A systemic insecticide called Merit had been sprayed on the trees in an attempt to control the pests, said Chris Palmieri, a project development coordinator with the city. He said it has been mostly successful when used annually to boost the trees' immunity. Palmieri said eucalyptus trees are not protected and residents can opt to down them rather than opting for treatments, which can be expensive. ``The city has the funds to treat the trees and save them,'' he said. Scientists suggest there are other alternatives. A University of California at Berkeley (body, education) University of California at Berkeley - (UCB) See also Berzerkley, BSD. http://berkeley.edu/. Note to British and Commonwealth readers: that's /berk'lee/, not /bark'lee/ as in British Received Pronunciation. professor introduced a small wasp that has been very helpful in reducing the lerp population up and down the state, said Timothy Paine, an entomologist at the University of California, Riverside The University of California, Riverside, commonly known as UCR or UC Riverside, is a public research university and one of ten campuses of the University of California system. . ``It only attacks the redgum lerp psyllid and stays in its environment,'' he said. ``It has been successful in many places in Southern California. It surprises me the city is in the process of taking out eucalyptus.'' He said the wasps establish themselves in the environment, and their populations rise and fall with that of their prey. ``It's management for free now,'' he said of the biological control. His colleague at the University of California, Davis The University of California, Davis, commonly known as UC Davis, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, and was established as the University Farm in 1905. concurred. ``Merit is not a bad strategy, but it may be a costly one,'' said Rick Roush, the director of UC Davis' Integrated Pest Management Integrated Pest Management (IPM), planned program that coordinates economically and environmentally acceptable methods of pest control with the judicious and minimal use of toxic pesticides. Program. He said Merit is pretty effective and seems to be fairly benign. ``They may save money using biological control agents,'' he said. Roush has lived in Australia, the lerps home base. He said the pests are not very common there, where they are controlled by their natural enemies. Aborigines aborigines: see Australian aborigines. and kids there often snacked on the insects - he said he sometimes eats the honeydew-sweet insects in Davis. He said the predator wasps do not sting people. ``They have sort of a laser bright specificity. They're very effective,'' he said. The city has used ``good'' bugs to go after bad in other cases, but Palmieri said officials were satisfied with the pesticide being applied. Judy O'Rourke, (661) 257-5255 judy.orourke(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- color) A tree trimmer trimmer see resco nail trimmer, toenail scissors. attached to a safety line touches a saw to a branch of a tree marked for removal because of a pest infestation infestation /in·fes·ta·tion/ (-fes-ta´shun) parasitic attack or subsistence on the skin and/or its appendages, as by insects, mites, or ticks; sometimes used to denote parasitic invasion of the organs and tissues, as by helminths. . (2 -- color) A tree trimmer is partially hidden in a jumble of branches while cutting one of the trees being removed Monday. A pest infestation made the removal necessary, officials said. (3) Tree trimmers cut down one of the trees slated for removal along McBean Parkway. David Crane/Staff Photographer |
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