re: ladybug law
- To: irisarians <I*@Rt66.com>
- Subject: re: ladybug law
- From: N* L* <7*@CompuServe.COM>
- Date: 25 May 96 12:05:55 EDT
Linda M. wrote:
>> to propose something that unpopular must have had some reasoning
>> behind it. The only thing I can think of that might be of concern
>> would be beneficials that were a little bit too successful and might
>> displace rarer species in natural systems, ....insect or nematode
>> pseudacoruses
Right you are! The regulation was proposed by APHIS, which is a division of the
USDA that I don't remember the full name of, Jan. 26 of last year. The intent
was exactly what you thought of, to prevent beneficials from becoming pests
themselves, but it was so broadly written that virtually all organisms would
have been defined as a 'nonindigenous species' and required a permit to apply.
Also the proposed reg. didn't take scale into account at all; the home gardener
would be subject to the same permit process as large growers, which would have
effectively killed the small-scale beneficials market, still in its infancy.
I'm not usually a 'bureacracy basher', but as it turned out, this was one of
those things cooked up to justify a budget increase without much thinking
through of the implications. After enough letters and testimony from
entomologists and growers, the reg. was re-written more narrowly to meet the
stated purposes without destroying the bio-controls business.
Nell Lancaster, Lexington, VA 75500.2521@compuserve.com USDA zone 6b
