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Published August 09, 2012, 12:00 AM

Weevil project at Perch Lake

Weevils used to kill weeds


Milfoil weevil is about the size of a sesame seed. This photo shows it on Eurasian milfoil. The photo was taken by Paul Skawinski, a regional Aquatic Invasive Species Education Specialist at Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.

  • Milfoil weevil is about the size of a sesame seed. This photo shows it on Eurasian milfoil. The photo was taken by Paul Skawinski, a regional Aquatic Invasive Species Education Specialist at Golden Sands Resource Conservation & Development Council, Inc.
  • Over 6,000 milfoil weevils arrived at Homestead Parklands County Park on August 2. They traveled in coolers while continuing to feast on Eurasian water milfoil that had been previously harvested from Perch Lake. From the left are Justin Townsend, Homestead Parklands manager, Vanessa Meyer - Weevil Program Intern at Beaver Creek Reserve and Amy Thorstenson, executive director / regional AIS Coordinator at Golden Sands RC&D. They were kept cool by covering them with life jackets.
  • Park manager Justin Townsend guide the canoe to just the right spot for Amy Thorstenson, who selects where to place the weevils nesting in Eurasian milfoil contained in coolers.
  • Not visible, sesame seed size weevils are among the strands of Eurasian milfoil being returned to the Perch Lake. The weevils have an appetite for the invasive aquatic plant.
  • In the canoes at the top, from the left are Homestead Parklands workers, Ryen Kleiser, Justin Townsend manager and Rachel Kerlin. In the canoes in the foreground from the left are Vanessa Meyer, Weevil Program Intern at Beaver Creek Reserve, Amy Thorstenson, executive director / regional AIS Coordinator at Golden Sands RC&D and Jeanette Kelly, citizen science director at Beaver Creek Reserve. Thorstenson is instructing the others on how and where to place the bundles of Eurasian milfoil containing the weevils.
  • Near the edge of the fishing pier on Perch Lake this is what Eurasian milfoil looks like.
  • Amy Thorstenson carefully places the bundles of Eurasian milfoil, one which the weevils have been feeding into Perch Lake. She locates the bundles in spots where they will blend in so the weevils have a better chance of becoming established than consumed by local fish.