Focusing on the singular idea of eliminating insects by destroying a certain portion of the insect’s male population, the US Department of Agriculture engages in a constant titanic battle verses a variety of pests and insects that plague mankind, plant life, and animals. In the 2009 year-end review, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported on the use of heavy-duty chemicals that attracted males, thus seriously controlling the pest population.
The attractants used in the studies have shown to be quite powerful as the agency noted the results of a study by entomologists on an island near Guam where the attractants wiped out a population of fruit flies. The main purpose of this experiment was to establish whether this was a legitimate technique that could be scaled for other purposes. This attractant, methyl eugenol, was developed in a government laboratory, and was very effective at attracting mail oriental fruit flies. Using this chemical, scientists were able to lure the insects away from crop areas. This terrible species was gradually eliminated over time, as the killing of the males limited the ability of the insect pests to reproduce.
Some attractants may actually be extracted from the females of various species, according to department reports. Some other insects that used these chemicals were cabbage loppers, lesser peach borers, and female houseflies. This research was some of the earliest findings that indicated that male insects could probably be brought into a set of chemicals that would rend them sterile.
Scientists are now hoping to isolate the exact chemical that allows them to attract the male members of the species so they will be able to mass produce it inexpensively. Chemo-sterilization is a method of pest extermination that has provided encouraging results. Experiments with houseflies, boll weevils and other common pests inspired scientists to look into this method.
Previous efforts have been made to use gamma radiation to sterilize the male members of screwworm populations in order to get rid of this pest in the southwest. This technique has been used previously in the southeastern areas of the country with great success, so scientists hope they can achieve similar results again. For the eradication of screwworms sterile male flies are released that were produced in a lab, they then mate with the local populace. Because the female screwworms only mate once before they die, the fact they are mating with sterile flies means the population fails to grow and in fact decreases severely.
In their endeavors to at last eliminate famed agricultural pests such as the cotton pest, houseflies, and the boll weevil, the agricultural department really feels that it is making huge strides. Cotton plants have yielded a repellent for weevils. Male weevils give off a natural attractant. Federal crop insurance was responsible, a number of years ago for the protection of millions of dollars invested in farm products, according to the Agriculture Department. Natural disasters have been avoided for nearly hundreds of thousands of crops spanning millions of acres.