News Release

Roseville, Minn.— Construction crews have started work on Stage 2 of the I-494 Reconstruction between Highway 5 and I-394. Motorists will see lots of activity as crews erect erosion control devices, signs and install temporary lighting and fiber optic lines. The project will add a third lane in both directions and will improve safety in the corridor with the construction of concrete median barriers.

It is important to note, however, that regular construction crews aren’t the only ones working long hours on the project. Some “workers” started months ago and have been working around the clock, seven days a week, without disrupting traffic. “Will work for food” is their motto as they work quietly, unnoticed and unpaid in the ditches and right-of ways.

Help like that is hard to find, but not if you will settle for flea beetles---Aphthona nigriscutis and Aphthona lacertosa. That’s what the Minnesota Department of Transportation (Mn/DOT) is deploying to control infestations of leafy spurge in the I-494 corridor.

“Leafy spurge is listed as a noxious weed in Minnesota and that means that landowners, Mn/DOT included, are required to control it on their property,” explained Tina Markeson, Mn/DOT statewide bio-control coordinator. “Leafy spurge is an invasive plant that out-competes native plants and will dominate a landscape. If cattle or horses eat it, it can cause digestive track problems or death. People should not handle leafy spurge because it frequently causes skin irritation,” Markeson added.

Leafy spurge is an aggressive weed that is very difficult to kill with herbicides, it takes eight to ten years of repeated, intensive treatments to gain control. If site conditions are favorable, the beetles can have visible control impacts in three to five years. Control of a leafy spurge patch depends on the number of beetles released, the density of the spurge and the area infested. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture gave the first batch of beetles to Markeson. Once established, they will control the leafy spurge, however, there is no way to eradicate it completely.

Flea beetles are tiny, in fact, 3-5000 of them will fit in a 35mm film canister and as long as food is available they are prolific. As the leafy spurge is consumed, beetle populations will decline, but as the leafy spurge starts to re-establish itself, beetle populations begin to increase again. Adult beetles eat the plant parts that are above ground and the beetle larvae eat the roots below ground.

When populations are high in one area, beetles can be collected for use at different sites around the state. The beetles are collected by brushing canvas bags through the plants, this causes the adult beetles fall into the bags. During a typical collection Markeson is able to collect 50,000 beetles.

As you drive through the I-494 corridor and see all the construction work going on, remember to be patient and drive safely. But also remember all the work that is going on that you don’t see, by all those busy beetles.

 

Traveler information, including incident reports, is available by calling 511 or logging on to www.511mn.org. Know the Road. Dial up or log on.

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