LAKETOWN TWP, MI (WHTC-AM/FM, Aug. 19, 2022) –A hearty cheer lifted over the towering blueberry bushes at Huyser Farm Park on Thursday. The release of the tiny insects – samba wasps — at the Laketown Township park marked a significant step forward for blueberry researchers trying to stem the impact of the spotted-wing drosophila, a pest that can ruin fruit crops. The wasps have only been used in cherry orchards before. Nine hundred were released earlier this month in Leelanau County.
Huyser Farm is unique because the blueberries have not been treated with pesticides that not only hurt the drosophila but also the samba wasps. Huyser
Farm has been used to study blueberries since 2011. The park is also being used to study bee populations.
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