COUNTYWIDE : Panel Searches for Wasp Release Sites
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The Ventura County Agricultural Commission is looking for potential sites to release biological enemies of the ash whitefly, officials said Thursday.
Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Ann McClure said the agency is compiling a list of areas in the county that meet the state Department of Food and Agriculture’s requirements for breeding the predator, a stingless wasp that is harmless to humans, but that attacks the whitefly.
Potential sites must have more than one tree present to ensure that the wasps can live there year-round, McClure said. Homeowners must agree not to spray the tree or cut it down.
State agricultural officials have said they plan to release 250 wasps at each of four as yet unidentified sites.
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