USA rises millions of flesh flies and now release them on Texas
Flesh fly adult has only sucking mouthparts and cannot eat the flesh of people or animals. But its larva is a different matter.
It prefers eating animals like cattle but may occasionally end up in humans too.
US authorities claim releasing genetically modified flesh flies will result in extinction of the natural Texan fly population which is the desired outcome.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/billions-flies-dumped-out-of-planes-fight-flesh-eating-new-world-screwworm/
The U.S. government is preparing to breed billions of flies and d
>ump them out of airplanes over Texas to fight a flesh-eating maggot.
Intent is to combat the bug that could devastate beef industry, decimate wildlife and even kill household pets.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to ramp up the breeding and distribution of adult male flies -- sterilizing them before releasing them.
>They mate with females in the wild, and the eggs laid by the female aren't fertilized altough the female will think they are, and never hatch. Female spends her life's store of eggs.
There are fewer larvae, and over time, the fly population dies out. It is more effective and environmentally friendly than spraying the pest into oblivion.
The USDA expects a new fly factory to be up and running in New Mexico by July 2026. It plans to open a fly distribution center in southern Texas by the end of the year so that it can import and distribute flies from Panama if necessary.
Flesh fly is a tropical species, unable to survive Midwestern or Great Plains winters, so it was a seasonal scourge.
The numbers released need to be large enough that females in the wild can't help but hook up with sterile males for mating because they can't find a natural male. One biological trait gives fly fighters a crucial wing up: Females mate only once, whereas a male can mate a few times before it dies from old age of 5 days.
It prefers eating animals like cattle but may occasionally end up in humans too.
US authorities claim releasing genetically modified flesh flies will result in extinction of the natural Texan fly population which is the desired outcome.
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/billions-flies-dumped-out-of-planes-fight-flesh-eating-new-world-screwworm/
The U.S. government is preparing to breed billions of flies and d
>ump them out of airplanes over Texas to fight a flesh-eating maggot.
Intent is to combat the bug that could devastate beef industry, decimate wildlife and even kill household pets.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to ramp up the breeding and distribution of adult male flies -- sterilizing them before releasing them.
>They mate with females in the wild, and the eggs laid by the female aren't fertilized altough the female will think they are, and never hatch. Female spends her life's store of eggs.
There are fewer larvae, and over time, the fly population dies out. It is more effective and environmentally friendly than spraying the pest into oblivion.
The USDA expects a new fly factory to be up and running in New Mexico by July 2026. It plans to open a fly distribution center in southern Texas by the end of the year so that it can import and distribute flies from Panama if necessary.
Flesh fly is a tropical species, unable to survive Midwestern or Great Plains winters, so it was a seasonal scourge.
The numbers released need to be large enough that females in the wild can't help but hook up with sterile males for mating because they can't find a natural male. One biological trait gives fly fighters a crucial wing up: Females mate only once, whereas a male can mate a few times before it dies from old age of 5 days.
