In a message dated 8/5/01 3:55:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

>  I never see any mention in the paper or these brochures of how
>  important purple loosestrife is to honey bees and other pollinating
insects.
>  Surely this must help many plants and nature.
>
  I have never seen mention about how important to native pollinators varroa
mites are for ridding us of feral colonies of those foriegn imported
honeybees.
  The big problem here is that purple loosestrife has no natural predators
native to the US and can easily outcompete native plants that require a much
narrower set of growing conditions. The shift to a monoculture of loosestrife
in the wetlands puts even more pressure on an allready strained ecosystem.
  Keep in mind that everything is interconnected far beyond what we ever
consider.
  Some progress has been made with control using Galerucella beetles.