The Milfoil weevil is a small water bug that may be able to rescue troubled ecosystems. This stems from the fact that it only eats milfoil and is harmless to humans).
There are two types of milfoil to be found in the Us. One is indigenous and the other invasive (Eurasian Milfoil). indigenous milfoil is merely annoying, but the offensive species is a menace to all bodies of water in the northern US states. The milfoil weevil now enjoys great popularity thanks to its love for the Eurasian Milfoil.
Eurasian milfoil (the only one that will be referred to in the rest of the article unless otherwise stated) in all probability found its way into the northern states somewhere between 1800’s and the 1940’s as it clung to Boats or was tossed out as packaging material. Because of its ability to travel on ship anchors, bottoms, and propellers it spread widely, bringing with it drastic ecological shifts and extra problems for mankind. Luckily this can spread the milfoil weevil as well.
Milfoil spreads fast, which results in less growth for native plants, less food for some beasts and less living habitat for small marine creatures. The mats constituted by the milfoil do not allow the wind to bring refreshing oxygen to the water and this will result in the eventual death of fish and a surge in algae growth.
The milfoil is more annoying for mankind than harmful because it can lose weight the amount of water available for yachting, angling, swimming and waterskiing. In residential districts, the dense mats may cause floods and droughts because of blocked intake or overflow pipes. Milfoil mats can even cause dam generators to foul or break resulting in lower electricity production.
The tiny milfoil weevil seems to be the panacea to this plague. The milfoil weevil favors Eurasian milfoil to the native variety, which means that the invasive species are killed over time and native plants are allowed to bit by bit recover. Add to that the number of generations of milfoil weevils per annum (at least 3) and you have a natural pestilence remover with none of the troubles associated with other ways. When taking into account how quick the milfoil propagates, it is plain that weevils are the perfect answer to controlling the problem.
It spreads when little pieces break off and sink to the bottom, there they take root. Using large aquatic reapers are not the solution as the break up the milfoil too much and it grows right back. Vacuum dredging works a little better because no broken pieces are left behind, but at the same time the vacuum disrupts the water and could leave no flora life at the bottom.
The milfoil weevil though favors Eurasian to indigenous milfoil so it eats that first, slowly weeding it out by burrowing into the stems and eating it from the inside out. With only thirty days to live, the milfoil weevils will go through three generations before coming ashore for the winter. Although they have wings they have rarely been know to fly so no one know if milfoil weevils fly to shore or swim. Once established in a habitat, the milfoil weevil will live even through the coldest Minnesota winters.
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