Bugs to bite bellyache bush

Entomology April 02, 2003

HUNDREDS of tiny bugs will soon be released across northern Australia in a bid to kill off a nasty weed known as bellyache bush. Bellyache bush, aka Jatropha gossypiifolia, has killed hundreds of cattle, goats and horses which ate the northern pasture weed, the CSIRO said today.

"All parts of the plant are highly toxic and can kill grazing animals that eat it," CSIRO entomologist Tim Heard said.

"It is widespread right across the top of Australia, from Western Australia to north Queensland."

But the CSIRO hopes a new biological weapon - a 15mm bug known as the bellyache bush jewel bug, or Agonosoma trilineatum, will help wipe out the toxic weed.

The bug, found in Venezuela, is expected to feed on the fruit of the bellyache bush, disrupting seed production to slow down its rapid spread.

Northern Territory government weeds branch spokesman Blair Grace said it was the first time a biological control agent had been released to fight the poisonous plant.

"Biological control will never eliminate a weed, but could make it easier to control with other methods like herbicides, hand-pulling or bulldozing," he said.

He said it was safe to introduce the bug in Australia because it only eats bellyache bush.

Bellyache bush was brought to Australia from Central and South America as a garden plant about a century ago.

It is believed by some to help cure bellyaches if taken in small quantities, Dr Heard said.

"It has been used as a ... herbal remedy in many parts of the world for a very long time for actually curing bellyache," Dr Heard said.

"In low doses it's rumoured to have medicinal properties, but in high doses it can kill you."