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Cornell releases wasps hoping to eliminate beetles
The Times Union is reporting researchers have released parasitic wasps at several sites in New York to determine if the wasps are a natural control against a beetle that kills lilies. The wasps kill lily leaf beetles by laying eggs in the beetle larvae. Researchers at the University of Rhode Island began evaluating the wasps in 1999 and had them approved for release by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Cornell University researchers released the wasps at Cornell Cooperative Extension sites in Putnam and Albany counties. They plan to release them in Erie County, as well. A Cornell survey found the lily leaf beetle is present in 30 New York counties, causing so much damage that gardeners have stopped growing the flowers. Read the full story in the Times Union.