SQUAD DEPLOYS ITTY-BITTY TROOPS IN WAR FOR TREES.Byline: David R. Baker Daily News Staff Writer Shaken like salt from their paper cartons, ladybugs tumbled into the trees Tuesday above Valley Village Park to do battle with a menacing pest. Workers with the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. parks department carefully dropped 2 million ladybugs into the park's eucalyptus trees in hope the red-shelled beetles will eat strange Australian plant lice attacking the trees. Park officials and entomologists The following is a list of entomologists, people who have studied insects. Name Born Died Country Speciality John Abbot 1751 1840 United States don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. whether the plan will work. The invading red gum lerp psyllid, which drains the juice from eucalyptus trees, is a newcomer to America, and experts don't yet know the best way to fight it. But Kevin Regan, chief arborist for the parks department, said the ladybugs are worth a try. They already have been seen eating psyllids in the park, and Regan would rather give them a shot at beating back the 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. than immediately resort to pesticides. ``If this doesn't work, we've lost nothing,'' said Regan, as helmeted workers atop cherry pickers shook $1,700 worth of ladybugs into the trees. ``We got to try using some kind of biological control first.'' If they gobble up Verb 1. gobble up - eat a large amount of food quickly; "The children gobbled down most of the birthday cake" garbage down, shovel in, bolt down eat - take in solid food; "She was eating a banana"; "What did you eat for dinner last night?" the invaders, Regan will start dropping ladybugs into more city recreation areas, probably starting with heavily 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: Griffith Park Griffith Park is a large public park at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains. It is situated in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The park covers 4,210 acres (17 km²) of land, making it one of the largest urban parks in North America. . ``Really, just about everywhere you go, you'll find them,'' he said. The tiny psyllid first appeared in America last year and already has spread through much of California. Los Angeles County agriculture officials spotted three infested trees just across Interstate 10 from their El Monte El Monte (ĕl mŏn`tē), city (1990 pop. 106,209), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1912. A residential, industrial, and commercial city in the San Gabriel Valley, El Monte manufactures furniture, electronic equipment, semiconductors, office in June. The pest showed up in the Bay Area at virtually the same time and has now hit the San Gabriel Valley The San Gabriel Valley is one of the principal valleys of southern California. It lies to the east of the city of Los Angeles, to the north of the Puente Hills, to the south of the San Gabriel Mountains, and to the west of the Inland Empire. and Orange County, said Rosser Garrison, an entomologist for the Los Angeles County agricultural agency. The city's worst infestation is in a stand of 70-year-old eucalyptus surrounding a picnic area in Valley Village Park. Young psyllids have covered the trees' sickle-shape leaves with sticky white cones, called lerps, that protect the insects as they grow. While entomologists say the psyllids by themselves probably can't kill the trees, they can put them under stress so they are more susceptible to attack by other insects. The thought of losing Valley Village Park's eucalyptus trees worries those who live nearby. In late afternoons, the park is filled with couples playing with their children and residents walking their dogs. ``It's a lovely park, and people come here for the shade,'' said Paul Goolnick, who has lived in the neighborhood 10 years. ``If the trees died, that would ruin the place.'' The question is whether the ladybugs, which usually feast on aphids, will eat enough of the psyllids to make a difference. ``They're nice to have, and they may eat some of the psyllids, but I don't think you'll see a serious drop in the population,'' said Garrison. He said further studies must be done to find out what insects attack the psyllids in their Australian home. Steve Hazzard, president of the company that supplied the ladybugs released Tuesday, said a gardening Web site lists the specific breed of ladybugs he used as a predator of the invading psyllids. CAPTION(S): 3 photos PHOTO (1 -- color) A worker holds a handful of tiny ``troops,'' ladybugs. (2 -- color) A human helper uses a crane to deploy ladybugs in hope they will annihilate an·ni·hi·late v. an·ni·hi·lat·ed, an·ni·hi·lat·ing, an·ni·hi·lates v.tr. 1. a. To destroy completely: The naval force was annihilated during the attack. plant lice from Australia that have infested trees at Valley Village Park. (3) On one crane, a city worker carries 2 million ladybugs into a war on pests. Gus Ruelas/Daily News |
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