Saturday, June 8, 2024

Got Worms?

Since 1957 the US has been battling the New World Screwworm and though the battle has a yearly $15 million price tag it has been largely successful in pushing the worm out of the states though now we are following the battle south first into Mexico and now into Panama. Even though most people have never heard of the Screwworm it is grossly destructive,  the fly's larva burrow into animal flesh tearing it as it goes often killing the animal and causing millions of human and livestock deaths. At first the USDA didn't know what to do since they couldn't use pesticides without ecological damage then they decided they would breed the Screwworms then zap them with radiation to make them sterile and it worked. Now they grow and drop 20 million Screwworms a week over Panama. Hopefully the effort will stop the worms there. 





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