Invasive Fruit Flies Dropped on California on Purpose



The Mediterranean fruit fly is an invasive species that is causing intolerable damage to crops in California. So why is the USDA breeding more of them and releasing them? It's for competition. The medflies from the labs are treated to make them sterile, and then released to mate with wild medflies which will then produce no offspring. This method is not as quick or thorough as spraying pesticides, but it's certainly a lot safer for people, crops, and the environment as a whole. It's a case of taking the long way around for long-term benefits. Still, the process of growing, sterilizing, transporting, and releasing these flies is quite complicated, as Tom Scott shows us. Then they have to be monitored, which is only possible because they've also been marked. Another thing I learned: ginger root oil helps male flies become more successful at mating. How long until someone bottles that for sale? Oh, it's already happening? I'm not surprised.


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