AgResearch scientists are taking to the paddocks in Canterbury to hoover up as many clover root weevils as they can find.
Scott Hardwick vacuums up clover root weevils. Photo: AGRESEARCH
The insect attacks and destroys clover and is one of the worst pasture pests. After a mild winter and spring the population in Southland has boomed.
Lincoln-based team leader Scott Hardwick said they are sweeping up weevils from Canterbury pasture - in particular those carrying the eggs of a tiny parasitic wasp which kill the weevil as they hatch.
The weevils will be sent to Southland, where farmers are suffering serious pasture damage from the pests.
"We used a modified leaf blower with a net in it, and we just walk round and round the pasture until the net within the leaf blower is full of material, and then we sieve the weevils out, " he said
Dr Hardwick said the scientists are about 10 percent of the way to getting the 1 million parasitised weevils they want to collect.
