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The red gum lerp psyllid is an insect native to Australia, where it feeds upon eucalyptus species. Since 1998 this psyllid has spread throughout California, resulting in millions of dollars in damage and control costs. To help suppress the red gum lerp psyllid, a biological control program was initiated and a psyllid-specific parasitic wasp was imported from Australia in 1999 and released in 2000. In most coastal regions this biological control agent has provided substantial control, but in some interior regions the psyllid still remains a problem. Researchers are continuing their investigations to determine if full statewide suppression will be realized eventually, or if further importation of new parasitoid species is needed. Fig. 4. Percentage of large lerps with parasitoid emergence exit holes during fall survey, 2003 (Roltsch et al. 2004). California county borders demark the four regional sampling zones (except for the Central Valley).

High densities of the blue gum psyllid can inhibit new shoot formation, distort the shape of new foliage and despoil foliage with white flocculate secretions produced by the immature stages and black sooty molds that grow on the honeydew. 4 The blue gum psyllid was first found in a plantation of baby blue gum in Monterey County.

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