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I heard a news report today that people will be bringing in non-native species of wasps to control the emerald ash borer population and save the trees. In fact, the emerald ash borer itself came here from Asia. It reminds me of the old song/story about the old lady who swallowed a fly. The ash borer comes here from Asia, then we bring wasps in from Asia to get the ash borers. Then the wasps get out of control and we need to bring in something else to control the wasps. And the cycle continues. I suppose desperate times call for desperate measures, but I’m hesitant to call this a good idea.

When I think of foreign plants and animals coming to the US, I never recall any success stories. Maybe that’s a problem with the news outlets today (hyping the bad news because it sells better) or maybe it’s because most of the instances are bad. The first thing that came to mind was “more killer bees“. But the people are emphasizing that these wasps are stingerless. I hope those Purdue researchers know what they’re doing, and I hope it turns out well for everyone except the ash borers and their cousins. But I’m still a bit wary.