The only thing that stands between the United States and an invasion of cattle-killing screwworms is a daily flight of airplanes flooding a 100-mile-wide section of the Isthmus of Panama with male screwworm flies raised in a laboratory and sterilized with radiation in Panama. The screwworm infestations of the past would probably come back if the releases stopped for a couple of months or so, says Dan Strickman, Agricultural Research Service national program leader for veterinary and medical entomology.
“This is a great example of agricultural research changing the history of this country, and it’s a cutting-edge example of integrated pest management,” Strickman adds.
This year marks the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s 150th anniversary, making it a particularly appropriate time to look at this and other examples of history in the making
