Now that you’ve read a little about the Sterile Insect Technique itself, you may be wondering how it works. How does one rear and release thousands, or even millions, of sterile insects? What makes them sterile? How do we know the insects are doing their job?
Let’s start from the beginning. The Sterile Insect Technique involves three basic stages: mass rearing of the insect pest; sterilization of reared insects; and release of sterilized insects into infested areas. The Moss Landing facility has been set up to rear enough light brown apple moths to determine the best method of implementing the SIT: the best method to rear the moths, to evaluate them and see how the sterilized insects are performing.
The rearing facility is environmentally controlled to closely match the natural environment of LBAM. Colonies of adult moths lay eggs, which are then reared on trays of an artificial diet designed to produce larger numbers of high quality insects. The eggs develop into larvae in the trays. As the insects develop to the adult stage, they are collected with equipment that uses cold temperature to immobilize the adults for collection. The adult moths are collected and are either placed into the moth colonies to lay eggs or taken to be sterilized.
The moths are not sterilized at the Moss Landing facility. For field release and evaluation, the moths are collected, transported under biosecure containment methods and treated using gamma ray sterilization. Sterilizations are carried out by trained and certified staff at a Bay area laboratory. The radiation dose used is effective in sterilizing moths but low enough that the moths’ performance is not impacted. It is essential that sterilized moths have normal mating behavior so they can search the environment to mate with a wild pest.
A system has been designed to ensure that the moths are sterile. A tool called a dosimeter is used to ensure that the chosen dose is achieved in each treatment. The dose has been chosen based on studies by several cooperating scientists and in our own laboratory. It is similar to the doses used in other moth SIT programs. Once sterilized, the insects must be released within 24 to 48 hours. I’ll talk more about the actual release process in another blog.
After the moths are released into the environment, they are tracked to determine the effectiveness of the program. The diet fed to larvae is dyed red, so the sterile moths take on characteristics that allow them to be differentiated from wild moths after they are trapped and brought back to the lab. Traps are set up in and around the release area to monitor the distance traveled by sterile moths and monitor population size.
The ultimate proof of success is when the wild population declines. That is the goal of using the SIT. Still more details to come about the SIT, along with answers to some commonly asked questions.
Gregory S. Simmons, Ph.D.
APHIS-PPQ-CPHST Light Brown Apple Moth Coordinator
United States Department of Agriculture
Author: Dr. Gregory Simmons, Light Brown Apple Moth Coordinator, USDA | Tags:
AND NOW THE REST (or MORE) OF THE STORY.
The blog above explains the concept and theory of Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). There are millions of insects and only one (the screw-worm fly) has ever been eradicated by SIT. NO MOTH has ever been eradicated by SIT. If SIT could be put into practice for LBAM, then we could also control the exact number of beneficial insects that WE want and have NO harmful ones.
Experimentation is great at reasonable expense, but SIT for LBAM is being represented by the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) and the USDA as the foundation and main tool in a statewide eradication of LBAM, and that is the FRAUD of this LBAM eradication program. The ultimate $3 billion taxpayer funds price tag added to CDFA’s normal budget and distributed through unnecessary service and pesticide contracts to large privileged insider corporate chemical companies is the other part of the fraud. Their motivation is not even to eliminate the moth. CDFA and USDA both know that LBAM needs not and cannot be eradicated. The motivation for this program is simply to get the money and position themselves to get more.
Because of LBAM’s tiny size, because wild LBAM females are promiscuous mating multiple times, because wild male LBAM are known to wait next to the female pupae waiting for it to become a mature female moth so they can mate immediately and because of numerous problems getting lab LBAM moths to mimic wild LBAM, LBAM is not even a legitimate candidate for SIT at this time. Pretending that SIT can eradicate LBAM is similar to training a four-year-old to climb on a playground jungle gym in order to prepare him for a solo ascent of Mt. Everest. Pretending that SIT can be the main tool of eradication of LBAM is more unrealistic than the 4-year old Everest example. With the best-sustained weather in history at Mt Everest and with a child that has unusual drive, training and lung capability, there is a remote chance that a four year old could climb Mt. Everest. There is NO chance that SIT can eradicate LBAM.
The tests for SIT effectiveness are being done on private property so that only CDFA/USDA can monitor and control the results. The tests are being represented as interfering with mating of wild LBAM. But when you realize that LBAM does not mate during this cold winter season, that is a clue to recognizing even the false pretense of this test. The majority of moths are in over-wintering DORMANT stage in the winter months. The moths are in larva form. Larvae don’t mate. There is a possibility for some flyers to emerge when weather permits, but no mating. Testing SIT to see if it reduces mating at this time is similar to testing mosquito repellent in the winter when there are no mosquitoes.
If you need further proof, please download the CDFA Program Environmental Impact Report (PEIR). You can read for yourself that LBAM HAS CAUSED NO DAMAGE IN CALIFORNIA. It is buried in 1500 pages of CDFA’s report so few people will ever see it, but you can read it for yourself by downloading Chapter #3, pages 3-20 and 3-21.
If you have heard of damage from LBAM, please contact the Agriculture Commissioner office where the damage was claimed and you will find that there is NO DOCUMENTATION of such damage. Yes, the media received those damage reports from CDFA and you and I both heard about it, but after you read CDFA’s own PEIR, you will see that those damage reports were false. Misinformation from CDFA… what a surprise!
Mr. Gregory S. Simmons, Ph.D., APHIS-PPQ-CPHST Light Brown Apple Moth Coordinator, USDA:
(1) What is your estimate of the likelihood, the actual numerical probability, that SIT will eradicate LBAM?
(2) If your estimate is greater than zero percent or no chance, please support your response with hard science, rather than a statement of being “Hopeful” as has been the case with other CDFA and USDA representatives.
(3) What are the LBAM population numbers at the test area above which SIT will be determined a failure and below which it will be determined a success. Please tell us in advance so that USDA cannot set the numbers of success after they collect the data.
(4) I know this is not your area, but if you have any information, please let us know why CDFA has reported California LBAM damage to the media and elected officials continuously for over two years now, yet the CDFA PEIR which postdates all claims of damage states: NO DAMAGE FROM LBAM IN CALIFORNIA.
Thank you Mr. Gregory Simmons.
What a great resource!