Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Controlling Brazilian Peppertrees with Insects Called Thrips

Brazilian Peppertree Berries
UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants - University of Florida
Brazilian Peppertree Berries

It’s probably fair to say the Brazilian peppertrees are one of the most disliked invasive species here in Florida. They’ve filled more than 700-thousand acres of land in the state, including in the Everglades. And, if you’ve ever had one on your property you know: they’re really hard to control.

Now, a research effort that’s been 15 years in the making is about to become a reality. Researchers have been studying a tiny insect called a thrips that feeds on Brazilian peppers back in Brazil – they’re one of the main reasons they’re not out of control there. The idea is to release them into our ecosystem in order to slow down, and even halt, their spread here. We're joined by Dr. Greg Wheeler, he’s a research entomologist with the US Department of Agriculture at the Invasive Plant Research Laboratory in Davie Florida, to learn more.

Copyright 2019 WGCU

Julie Glenn is the host of Gulf Coast Live. She has been working in southwest Florida as a freelance writer since 2007, most recently as a regular columnist for the Naples Daily News. She began her broadcasting career in 1993 as a reporter/anchor/producer for a local CBS affiliate in Quincy, Illinois. After also working for the NBC affiliate, she decided to move to Parma, Italy where she earned her Master’s degree in communication from the University of Gastronomic Sciences. Her undergraduate degree in Mass Communication is from the University of Missouri at Kansas City.
Mike Kiniry is producer of Gulf Coast Live, and co-creator and host of the WGCU podcast Three Song Stories: Biography Through Music. He first joined the WGCU team in the summer of 2003 as an intern while studying Communication at Florida Gulf Coast University.