The Importation of the Vedalia Beetle

The importation of the vedalia beetle was the beginning of the modern era of biological control. This importation project saved the developing citrus industry in California in the late 1800s and provided the impetus for biological control efforts within California. This spectacular biological control success in California was repeated in several other countries. Details of this project are in a paper by Doutt and an annual review article by Caltagirone and Doutt.