Sterile flies rain down on Kangaroo Island as battle to wipe out sheep blowfly gets serious

For a facility trying to churn out more than 8 million flies a week, it seems counterproductive to…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #aerialrelease #AU #Australia #Australiansheepblowfly #biosecurity #blowfly #DudleyPeninsula #eradicationprogram #fly-strike #Kangarooisland #Kingscote #livestock #Luciliacuprina #sheepfarming #SouthAustralia #sterileinsecttechnique
https://www.newsbeep.com/279858/

'Comparison of the standard and boosted sterile insect techniques for the suppression of Aedes albopictus populations under semi-field conditions' - an article published in #ParasiteJournal by @EDPSciences on #ScienceOpen 📄🔓🔎 https://www.scienceopen.com/document?vid=ed3e2637-5671-4548-8091-01f5de76163e

#SterileInsectTechnique #AedesAlbopictus #VectorControl #PublicHealth

Comparison of the standard and boosted sterile insect techniques for the suppression of <i>Aedes albopictus</i> populations under semi-field conditions <span class="so-article-trans-title" dir="auto"> Translated title: Comparaison des techniques des insectes stériles standard et renforcée pour supprimer des populations d’ <i>Aedes albopictus</i> en conditions semi-naturelles </span>

<p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d8076361e269">Innovative control tools are needed against <i>Aedes</i> mosquitoes. The boosted sterile insect technique (bSIT) consists of treating sterile males with a biocide prior to their release to contaminate larval habitats. We compared the efficacy of SIT and boosted SIT to prevent the emergence of adult <i>Aedes albopictus</i> in large cages. We tested two sterile-to-fertile male ratios: 5:1 (SIT5) and 1:1 (SIT1), with and without pyriproxyfen enhancement (bSIT or SIT). The eggs were collected in ovitraps and the immature stages were monitored until adult emergence or up to 15 days after hatching to estimate the relative risk ( <i>RR</i>) of adult emergence compared to the control category. The concentration of pyriproxyfen in the ovitrap water did not change when sterile males were released with females or alone ( <i>χ</i> <sup>2</sup> = 0.99, <i>df</i> = 1, <i>p</i> = 0.547). This concentration was higher when the sterile-to-fertile male ratio was increased from 1:1 to 5:1: <i>χ</i> <sup>2</sup> = 18.8, <i>df</i> = 1, <i>p</i> = 0.006. All four treatment categories were effective in suppressing mosquito populations. With a relative risk <i>RR</i> = 0.194 95% CI [0.128; 0.275], SIT5 was the most effective. Boosted SIT was not as effective as SIT. However, bSIT1 ( <i>RR</i> = 0.418 [0.351; 0.492]) and bSIT5 ( <i>RR</i> = 0.512 [0.431; 0.596]) were equally effective. Boosted males directly vectored pyriproxyfen to breeding sites. Boosted SIT was more effective than SIT alone with a low sterile-to-fertile male ratio. Under operational conditions, it could be initially deployed to suppress the target population and then switched to standard SIT. </p><p xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" class="first" dir="auto" id="d8076361e314">Des outils innovants sont nécessaires pour lutter contre les moustiques <i>Aedes</i>. La technique de l’insecte stérile renforcée (TIS-R) consiste à traiter les mâles stériles avec un biocide avant leur lâcher afin de contaminer les gîtes larvaires. Nous avons comparé l’efficacité de la TIS et de la TIS-R pour prévenir l’émergence d’ <i>Aedes albopictus</i> adultes dans de grandes cages. Nous avons utilisé deux ratios entre mâles stériles et fertiles : 5:1 (TIS5) ou 1:1 (TIS1), traités ou non par du pyriproxyfène (TIS-R5 et TIS-R1). Les œufs ont été collectés dans des pièges à oviposition et les stades immatures ont été surveillés jusqu’à l’émergence des adultes ou jusqu’à 15 jours après l’éclosion afin d’estimer le risque relatif ( <i>RR</i>) d’émergence des adultes par rapport à la catégorie témoin. La concentration de pyriproxyfène dans l’eau des pièges à oviposition n’a pas changé lorsque les mâles stériles étaient lâchés avec les femelles, ou seuls ( <i>χ</i> <sup>2</sup> = 0,99, <i>df</i> = 1, <i>p</i> = 0,547). Cette concentration était plus élevée lorsque le rapport entre mâles stériles et fertiles passait de 1 à 5 : <i>χ</i> <sup>2</sup> = 18.8, <i>df</i> = 1, <i>p</i> = 0,006. Les quatre traitements ont permis de supprimer les populations de moustiques. La TIS-R5 s'est avérée la plus efficace : <i>RR</i> = 0,194 [0,128; 0,275]. La TIS-R n’était pas aussi efficace que la TIS. Cependant, la TIS-R1 ( <i>RR</i> = 0,418 [0,351; 0,492]) et la TIS-R5 ( <i>RR</i> = 0,512 [0,431; 0,596]) étaient d’efficacité similaire. Les mâles traités ont directement transmis le pyriproxyfène aux gîtes larvaires. La TIS renforcée s’est avérée plus efficace que la TIS standard avec un ratio entre mâles stériles et fertiles peu élevé. En conditions opérationnelles, elle pourrait être utilisée en début de lutte pour supprimer la population cible, puis remplacée par la TIS standard. </p>

ScienceOpen
Texas prepares for war as invasion of flesh-eating flies appears imminent https://arstechni.ca/vU6m #sterileinsecttechnique #flesh-eating #screwworms #livestock #swormlure #Science #Health #cattle #mexico #flies #texas #USDA
Texas prepares for war as invasion of flesh-eating flies appears imminent

In Colombia, the parasites were caught expanding into endangered wild mountain tapirs.

Ars Technica

1️⃣1️⃣ SIT Is Only a Stopgap

Sterile insect releases work—but they’re costly, fragile, and constant. They’re holding the line, not solving the problem. We need a real endgame.
#SterileInsectTechnique #Investment #Nomodynamy #20postchallenge

3️⃣ The Tech That Worked

We released sterile male flies. No offspring = population collapse. It’s one of the greatest entomological success stories ever—and it worked because we invested.
#SterileInsectTechnique #SciencePolicy #Nomodynamy #20postchallenge

Sterile insect technique (Parasitology 🧬)

The sterile insect technique is a method of biological insect control, whereby overwhelming numbers of sterile insects are released into the wild. The released insects are preferably male, as this is more cost-effective and the females may in some situations cause damage by laying eggs in the crop, or, in the case...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sterile_insect_technique

#SterileInsectTechnique #Infertility #Parasitology #InsectControl #InsectRearing

Sterile insect technique - Wikipedia