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Invasive Weeds: A Growing Pain

Many weeds have pretty flowers but they are a growing pain. They crowd out native plants, harm animal habitats and increase erosion.

High School Students Use Horned Beetles to Weed Out the Problem

Four high school students from Columbus, Montana, along with their Vocational-Agriculture instructor, successfully introduced the use of the horned beetle to reduce the spread of leafy spurge, a rapidly spreading weed with a 20-foot tap root impervious to most traditional control methods. Starting with a modest 200 beetles, the students successfully reproduced millions of insects.

The beetles are natural biological control agents whose larva attack the root system of the spurge, weakening and eventually killing the plant. The environmentally safe beetles are often more effective than herbicides.

The beetle project is part of the Stillwater Project, a cooperative venture between Columbus High School, the Bureau of Land Management, and other agencies that links automated weather monitoring with the introduction of insects for invasive weed control. The Columbus High School Project is believed to be the only one that has succeeded in reproducing these beetles in large numbers.