Samford Biological Control Facility

Samford Biological Control Facility

Catchment Action Plan: Pine

Site: QUT Samford Ecological Research Facility, Camp Mountain

The Samford Biological Control Facility is mass-breeding cat’s claw creeper jewel beetles, tingid bugs and madeira beetles – natural predators of fast-spreading vines that are approved for release to smother native vegetation destroying habitat for species including koalas and platypus.

Led by The Pine Rivers Catchment Association, the beetles are being released at priority locations across South East Queensland, including sites in the Pine Rivers, Mid-Brisbane, Mary and Logan River catchments, targeting hundreds of kilometres of invasive weeds threatening ecosystem health.

Cat’s claw creeper and madeira vine are among the region’s most damaging weeds, choking riparian vegetation, threatening water quality and reducing landscape resilience.

Local volunteers from the Samford Men’s Shed have supported the project by building custom ‘bug dorms’ filled with cat’s claw creeper and madeira vine to provide food for the beetles and bugs and maximise success.

The biocontrol program is part of an integrated weed-management approach reducing reliance on physical and chemical control techniques while strengthening ecological balance.

The project is funded through Resilient Rivers SEQ under the SEQ City Deal, a partnership between the Australian Government, Queensland Government and Council of Mayors (SEQ).

What's happening on ground?

Breeding biological controls

Tens of thousands of leaf-mining jewel beetles and leaf-sucking tingids for cat’s claw creeper and the Madeira vine beetle for Madeira vine will be raised and monitored each year in on-site nurseries before being transferred to targeted locations across the region for release.

Building bug dorms

Releasing biocontrols

The beetles are released at priority locations across SEQ including sites in the Pine Rivers, Mid-Brisbane, Mary and Logan River catchments, targeting hundreds of kilometres of invasive weeds threatening ecosystem health.

Supporting long-term weed control

The biocontrol program is part of an integrated weed-management approach reducing reliance on physical and chemical control techniques while strengthening ecological balance. It will be supported by partners including Seqwater, who will contribute to ongoing beetle supply for long-term weed control across SEQ.

Looking ahead

Once established in the wild, the agents will continue their work, suppressing invasive vines and supporting healthier ecosystems.

The project will help combat two of South East Queensland’s most destructive invasive weeds and strengthen the resilience of the places Queenslanders depend on every day.