Mechanisms for the effective biological control of the invasive water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta, California

The invasive species water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes, grows abundantly in the Delta and causes serious ecological and economic harm. To date, application of herbicides and mechanical removal/shredding have been costly and implementation has been difficult due to concerns of native endangered species. Although the classical biological control agents, the weevils Neochetina bruchi and N. eichhorniae, result in damage to water hyacinth, current control outcomes in the Delta have not reached the desirable levels observed in other regions where classical biological control has been implemented.