Scientists say they have figured out a way to turn a virus that kills fire ants into a weapon.
A group of researchers from Tennessee, Florida and North Carolina said in their study that they were able to reduce the population of imported fire ants in Florida. The team used a viruses to kill the ants.
Solenopsis invicta virus 3 may be an effective natural control agent against its host, the red imported fire ant, according to the authors.
The red and black fire ants are native to South America and were introduced in the 1930's, according to the Washington Post.
Replacing chemical pesticides is always a bonus, and the results look promising. The only way to reduce ant populations is by breeding.
Red and black fire ants created a hybrid. We need a new variant that targets the hybrid ant because it's resistant to theviruses used in the study. We understand if you twitch at the mention of the wordvariant. The last Florida-based insect control experiment went wrong and there's a chance that will happen again.
If the tactic helps native species thrive, we're all for it, but let's hope no one gets happy.
The internet outage in Canada was caused by a single destructive BEACON.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
