Forestcast Season 1: Balance and Barrier - Episode 2: Wasps vs Emerald Ash Borer Beetles

With global trade and travel, organisms are moved around easily and abruptly, causing biological invasions. What’s our best hope to combat these rapidly spreading pests? Sometimes, it’s to do the exact same thing, to start moving around organisms — on purpose — to attack unwanted pests. This is called ‘biological control.’ It is one of the most cost-efficient and environmentally acceptable long-term approaches for managing invasive species. And, it’s been a crucial component to managing the damage caused by the most destructive forest insect in U.S. history — the emerald ash borer.

In this Episode meet 

• Leah Bauer, Research Entomologist (retired) 
• Roy Von Driesche, Entomologist / Conservation Biologist, Amherst, MA (Professor of Entomology, Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst - retired) 
• Jian Duan, Research Entomologist, USDA Agricultural Research Service