Purple Loostrife, Lythrum salicaria L.,  is an exotic perennial plant of European origin that is invading and degrading wetland habitats all across North America. This invasive plant can form dense monotypic stands in a variety of wetland and lakeshore habitats replacing native plant species, thus degrading food, shelter and nesting sites for wildlife. Currently there are no chemical or mechanical methods that provide long-term control of established stands of purple loosestrife. However, biological control, the use of natural enemies to control a pest, shows real promise as demonstrated by the results described in this pamphlet. Since 1992, a nationally coordinated program has introduced four species of European insects (one root-mining weevil, one flower-feeding weevil and two leaf-feeding beetles) in North America.

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