Two species of small, stingless Asian wasps that prey on emerald ash borers were released for the first time in national forests.
An unknown number of wasps, Oobius agrili (pictured) and Tetrastichus planipennisi, were let loose in late July along the eastern edge of the Huron-Manistee National Forests.The hope is that these insects will help slow, or stop, the spread of the voracious, tree-killing ash borers.
Researchers have been examining the potential of these "parasitoid" wasps for years now, primarily trying to determine if brining a new Asian insect to this country will do more good for ash trees than harm to native insect species.
The ash borers certainly have caused lots of harm. Since their discovery near Detroit in 2002, borers have spread to 15 states, including Ohio, two Canadian provinces and are blamed for the destruction of millions of ash trees.
via www.dispatch.com
The Environmental Theory of Second Best: When the optimal solution (direct elimination of ash borers) is infeasible, it is sometimes necessary to introduce a second inefficiency (Asian wasps) to partially mitigate the impacts of the first inefficiency. The final outcome may not be optimal, but it may be closer to optimal than doing nothing.
This reminds me of a time when I was in a bar alone and had too many beers to drive home. The optimal solution would have been to not drink that many beers, but since that ship had sailed, I switched to bourbon and called a cab.
