Stanford Today
November/December 1998
Campus News - Eucalyptus Enemy
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A tiny Australian insect is threatening the university's towering, historic eucalyptus trees. A traveler likely unwittingly brought the plant-eating psyllid, or Glycaspis brimblecombei, to Southern California five years ago. The insect sucks the sap and fluids from the trees, leading to premature defoliation and eventually death. Stanford, loath to chemically spray the trees, has two entomologists working on a biological control program. However, the psyllid has no known predators in the United States. Officials eventually may have to import Australian wasps or some other psyllid predator. Eucalyptus were among the first trees planted at Stanford in the 1890s. <