Swansea to Trial the Japanese Knotweed Bug?

As predicted (although allegedly secret), it looks as if Swansea, with its impressive biomass of Japanese knotweed, might well be one of the areas where biological control with the alien psyllid sap-sucking bug Aphalara itadori carrying a pathogenic (to plants) fungus will be trialled in Wales (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/8585344.stm). I hope that the trial is a resounding success (knotweed is certainly a considerable problem for people and the environment) but I can't like getting a little nervous about the potential for things to go pear-shaped. Setting an alien to catch an alien (the plant was introduced by Victorian gardeners) has led to problems in the past. I do wish that people would stop describing the psyllid as a 'natural predator' of Japanese knotweed. The target is a plant not an animal and will not be killed by the insect sucking it dry (the fungus would have to do the killing). The psyllid is natural in Japan but not in the UK.