Psyllid concerns

THERE has been much discussion about the reintroduction of the wolf into Scotland and the associated benefits and risks involved in containing the animals.

The wolf is a rather large mammal and if escapes did occur, it would be relatively easy to track the animals down. However, Defra (your report, 9 March) has given permission for "a psyllid called Aphalara itadori" to be released to tackle the problem of Japanese knotweed. You also report that "experts say the behaviour of the psyllid bugs have been scrutinised so thoroughly there is little risk of anything going wrong".

If the bug did mutate to feed off other plants what would be the back-up plan? "She swallowed a spider to catch the fly?" Suddenly, the 150 million it costs to keep the weed under control seems a small price to pay for the protection of the environment.

MICHAEL N CROSBY

Muiravonside

By Linlithgow