Title: Loosing the Louse on Europe's largest invasive pest
Abstract: Japanese knotweed can grow through solid concrete foundations, forcing contractors to abandon infested building sites. In the United Kingdom, damages and removal cost $288 million a year. Last week, the United Kingdom approved the widespread release of one of the plant's natural enemies, a plant louse, or psyllid, called Aphalara itadori. While there are dozens of biological controls already in use against insect pests, this is the first officially sanctioned release of one against a weed in the European Union. [Carpenter, J. (2011). Loosing the Louse on Europe's largest invasive pest. Science, (332)6031, p781, DOI: 10.1126/science.332.6031.781">10.1126/science.332.6031.781]