White Butterfly Pest

Dominion, Volume 26, Issue 147, 17 March 1933, Page 13

White Butterfly Pest

Sir, —Having noticed a number of white butterflies in this district which are very destructive in gardens, it has occurred to me to ask how this pest came to New Zealand. Did they reach here by accident, or were they introduced by scientists to combat some weed or check the depredations of another insect? I think the time has come when we should seriously consider whether it is advisable to allow any more insects to be imported to New Zealand. I believe that •nature has placed in each country what insect life is best suited to it, and I am sure it is a great mistake to supplement them. The cinnabar moth was supposed to eradicate ragwort, but has it done so, or is it likely to do it? The farmer, orchardist or gardener always has to bear the brunt of these experiments. The scientist merely looks round for another bug to chase the first. In conclusion, may I ask, would we not have been wiser if we had brought no insects to New Zealand? One can’t blame them for preferring nice fodder crops and vegetables to insects.—l am, etc., G. F. MOORE. Bushy Park, March 13. [ln reply, it is stated on behalf of the Department of Agriculture that the white butterfly was not introduced deliberately. It is common to the Northern Hemisphere, but its depredations are more serious m New Zealand because its natural enemies have not yet been establishd. It was first noticed in New Zealand some two and a half years ago.]