Cochineal continue to have a significant impact despite good rain

Cochineal continue to have a significant impact despite good rain

Mat, Andy and Dave from Castlereagh Macquarie County Council, Royce from Ecological Horizon Consulting and Andrew from Department of Primary Industries (DPI) were out in the field monitoring the Hudson pear sites in May. They acquired the usual ecological data including dispersal, density, and impact for the two long-term monitoring sites as well as drone multispectral imagery at four sites. They also collected regression data which is where the plant size verse the number of cladodes is recorded. Fresh Hudson pear cladodes were collected for the cochineal being reared at the DPI Orange facility.

Overall, they continue to record fantastic results from all the release sites and are observing the cochineal doing great work in moving further onto new plants despite the cooler and wetter conditions. General vegetation recovery due to good rains was also significant.

Photo: Andrew McConnachie, NSW DPI