Pest-control beetle turning into pest?

By Brian Maffly, The Salt Lake Tribune


Three years ago, federal officials turned loose a hungry Asian beetle along Colorado Plateau stream banks in an effort to control the invasive tamarisk plant without herbicides. But a new University of Utah study suggests the imported beetle is doing its job too well.


Using infrared sensing mounted on a NASA satellite, U. scientists documented extensive defoliation in five study areas along the Colorado River north of Moab, according to the study published last month in the online journal Remote Sensing of Environment .

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