Posted on 06/19/2022 4:16:52 PM PDT by Scarlett156
(audio)
Scientists say they've figured out at least part of North America's invasive, imported fire ant problem by turning a virus that kills them into a weapon.
A group of researchers from Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina universities said in their new study, published in the print edition of the Journal of Invertebrate Pathology this month, that they successfully reduced wild Florida populations of imported fire ants. The ants reduce nearby biodiversity, so the team used a virus called Solenopsis invicta virus 3 to kill them.
"Laboratory tests have shown that Solenopsis invicta virus 3 may be an effective natural control agent against its host, the red imported fire ant," the so-authors wrote.
The Washington Post says both the imported red and black fire ants are native to South America and were introduced in the 1930s.
(Excerpt) Read more at futurism.com ...
I’ve been using bacillus thuringiensis for years to control caterpillars. Granted it is a bacterium not a virus but... biological control of destructive insects is, in my opinion, better than poisons for the harvest and the environment. Right now, my only option for control of the very nasty fire ant is poison. I am as diligent as I can be to protect native ants on my property, but fire ants are dominant.
The NappyOne
Joke time...
How do you get rid of red ants?
Paint half of them black.
The red ants move away and the black ands kill each other.
That’s hilarious.
Okay, so what’s the relevance? Obviously I never read it. 🙂
I can’t tell you without spoiling it for everyone.
Can’t find the full text on line, but it’s pretty short, exactly one page and one line.
Give me a bit to transcribe it and send it to you by FReepmail, with the one line in a second FReepmail...
You’ve got FReepmail...
Just had a conversation yesterday about how many different kinds of bugs have seemed to disappear recently..
I am overwhelmed by all the humorous and insightful commentary on this thread.
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