Latest news with #insecticide
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Maine tree spraying will kill any caterpillars, not just forest pest
Jun. 2—A government-funded campaign has begun spraying insecticides and biological agents on 240,000 acres of Maine's North Woods infested with spruce budworm, a voracious forest pest that killed millions of spruce and fir trees during its last population explosion. JBI Helicopters began spraying tebufenozide over 9,000 acres in far western Maine on Thursday, said spokesman Jim Britt of the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The spraying, approved by the Board of Pesticide Control in April, could last through June 25 of this year. The tebufenozide, which is sold under the brand name MIMIC, kills the budworm caterpillar by triggering a premature molt. A biological agent, Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki, or Btk, is also authorized for use, but will likely be applied in much smaller amounts. It destroys the caterpillar's gut lining. When applied properly, neither agent will harm people or most animals, according to Doug Van Hoewyk, a state toxicologist with pesticide board. Any caterpillar that eats it will die, however, including those that turn into beneficial moths and butterflies. Several beneficial moths and two state-threatened butterflies live in or near the targeted spraying area. Clayton's copper lays its eggs and collects nectar in shrubby cinquefoil stands in bogs, fens and streamside meadows, including some near New Sweden. The Arctic fritillary feeds and lays its eggs on dwarf willows in the mature coniferous forests of Big Twenty Township, Maine's northernmost community. "Maine has an important role in conserving the rare Clayton's copper butterfly," according to the species description posted by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. "This small metallic purple and bronze jewel is found only in Maine and just over the border in New Brunswick." The state agency identifies several threats to the species: floods that destroy the copper's eggs, larvae and host cinquefoil stands, forest succession that creates too much shade for the sun-loving cinquefoil to tolerate, and aerial insecticide spraying. A study published in Science in March found about one in five U.S. butterflies, or 22%, have disappeared over the last 20 years. Clayton's Copper and Arctic Fritillary were too rare to be included in the study, but seven of Maine's other 118 species showed some of the country's fastest declines. In its chapter on butterfly conservation, the authors of a 2023 field guide, "Butterflies of Maine and and the Canadian Maritime Provinces," warn that widespread budworm spraying has the potential to reduce butterfly abundance at both the population and landscape level. The early intervention strategy that Maine is using to spray on the leading edge of the outbreak will limit the geographic scope of the spraying, the authors say, but it "does not eliminate the threat of incidental spray impacts to butterflies." One of those authors leads the state's wildlife diversity division. To protect these rare butterflies, JBI must not spray within a quarter-mile of habitat these species are likely to frequent. The quarter-mile buffer is recommended by the biological agent manufacturer and was written into the Maine Board of Pesticide Control's spray permit. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife "anticipates minimal impacts to these two species as a result of project activities," senior resource biologist Andrew Wood told Ked Coffin of Irving Woodlands, a leader of the Maine Budworm Response Coalition, in an April 20 letter. At a public forum on spruce budworm earlier this month, state wildlife biologists and pesticide regulators said Maine's solution to its budworm problem will be closely managed, and that it will not be as heavy-handed as Maine's response to the last outbreak. Last time, Maine approved the use of synthetic broad-spectrum insecticides toxic to non-caterpillar insects like bees, aquatic invertebrates and birds to keep trees alive long enough to harvest; this time, narrow-spectrum pesticides will be sprayed on hotspots before a full-fledged epidemic breaks out. "The budworm response of my parents' generation does not need to be the response of today," said Maine Forest Service entomologist Allison Kanuti. "A successful early intervention strategy can keep forests healthy, supporting not only the economies that rely on them but also maintain wildlife habitat." Van Hoewyk, the state pesticide toxicologist, said tebufenozide does not build up in the blood, fat or muscle tissue of Maine's mammals, birds or bees, won't leach into the ground water and won't persist in the soil. It is slightly toxic for fish, but they excrete 90% of what they absorb in 15 days. What if an angler eats that fish? For reference sake, imagine a 2-pound trout had ingested a ridiculous amount of tebufenozide, or 300 milligrams. According to Van Hoewyk's back-of-the-napkin calculations, you'd have to eat a half million such trout in one setting to approach a lethal amount. "So there's hardly going to be any risk to anglers," Van Hoewyk said. The risk from Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki, the spores of a naturally occurring bacterium, is even lower and is approved for use in organic crop production, Van Hoewyk said. It is dormant until activated by the alkaline environment of a caterpillar's gut. Mammals such as humans have a highly acidic gut. The spraying is part of a $14 million spraying campaign funded with state, federal and private dollars to contain an outbreak that industry projects could cost the state economy an estimated $794 million a year and thousands of jobs, or 12% of the forest product industry's total workforce. Unlike forest pests like the emerald ash borer, which is an invasive species, spruce budworm is a Maine native. But every 40 years or so, the population explodes, killing up to two-thirds of the spruce trees in its path and 97% of the fir trees. The last outbreak killed an estimated 7 million trees. But the spruce-fir forests in Maine's colder, higher-elevation regions provide wildlife benefits, too, by creating unique habitats for Bicknell's thrush, which Maine added to its endangered species list last year. Also, fir and spruce forests provide critical deer wintering areas. A budworm outbreak also could reduce the amount of heat-trapping carbon dioxide emissions removed from the atmosphere by Maine's spruce-fir forests by 5%-16%, depending on the severity, according to Professor Adam Daigneault, director of the University of Maine's School of Forest Resources. The hotspots popping up in Maine are connected to a massive outbreak in Quebec that began in 2006. By 2020, over 33.5 million acres had been damaged. Aerial spotters found 850 discolored acres in northern Aroostook County in 2021. Last year, the found 3,000 denuded acres near Little East Lake. While Quebec is in the throes of a full-fledged outbreak, Maine hopes to follow New Brunswick's lead and use targeting spraying in areas where they have found a lot of overwintering eggs to contain budworm population before it reaches full outbreak status. The state has approved spraying in 34 towns in Aroostook County, from Allagash to Wallagrass. Although the pesticides are considered non-toxic, many of the logging roads that crisscross the largely unpopulated area will be blocked to keep people out of the area during spraying days. To limit the already low risk, JBI will steer clear of rare butterfly habitats, rivers, lakes and streams and populated areas with high budworm larval counts like Fort Kent and target the upper canopy only, where spruce budworm caterpillars are known to feed, to minimize on-the-ground impact. JBI planes are equipped with GPS-guided delivery systems, digital mapping and automated navigation to minimize the risk of aerial drift. And the planes will sit idle on windy or rainy days. The state's spruce budworm taskforce will share spraying plans as they develop at Most environmental advocates didn't want to talk about Maine's budworm spraying plan. Pete McKinley, a senior conservation biologist in The Wilderness Society, was one of the few to voice a concern, but even he admitted that he wasn't sure if he'd ask the state to stop spraying. McKinley said he isn't sure if the spraying program is worth it or a budworm outbreak is all bad. An outbreak would wreak havoc on the forest economy, tank the North Woods' carbon storage capacity and destroy habitat for spruce-fir dependent wildlife. But budworms are a native Maine species, and outbreaks are great for many forest songbirds and predators that thrive on edge habitat. In his long career, McKinley has worked for a land trust, a birding group and a timber management company. He loves Maine's boreal forest, but he doesn't like spray advocates likening an outbreak to a wildfire. Budworm doesn't kill people. It doesn't even kill all spruce or fir. The last outbreak left a trail of dead trees behind for woodpeckers, he said. It created dense young balsam-fir stands that provided food and cover for snowshoe hares, whose resulting population boom helped increase the ranks of the endangered Canada lynx. Budworm outbreaks provide "a bonanza of primo bird meat" for more than 40 species of migratory songbirds, McKinley said, including budworm specialists such as the Tennessee, Cape May and Bay-breasted warblers. McKinley spent five years as a forest songbird researcher. These warblers time their breeding cycles to coincide with peak budworm caterpillar season, relying on them as a source of high-energy food that helps fuel their very costly flight from Central and South America to their breeding grounds in Maine and Canada, McKinley said. "Will they go extinct or disappear from Maine if they spray?" McKinley asked "No, probably not, but it won't be good for them. Most will switch to another insect. Without any caterpillars at all, though, the competition for what insects remain will be fierce — another stressor on already stressed species." A 1998 study out of Canada suggests the stress will pose little risk to these forest songbirds. The Canadian wildlife agency found nestling survival and growth of Tennessee warblers in New Brunswick were mostly unaffected by the spraying or the indirect effects of prey reduction. The study found nests in treated areas had smaller clutches, smaller broods and lower hatch rates than those in untreated areas, but described these differences as statistically significant. Female warblers in spray areas spent more time foraging and less time at their nests, but it did not affect survivorship. State regulators say they understand the public is concerned about the impacts of aerial insecticide treatments on wildlife. That concern is not only valid, but it is also shared by the people who are leading the budworm prevention effort, said Britt, the agriculture spokesman. The treatments in Northern Maine are part of a carefully designed, science-based early intervention strategy to prevent a crisis, not respond to one," Britt said. "Acting early allows us to treat fewer acres less often and, more precisely, reduces long-term product use and forest damage." Copy the Story Link
South China Morning Post
25-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong internet sensation ‘Mr Ho' arrested over insecticide attack
Hong Kong internet sensations 'Mr and Mrs Ho' have once again captured media attention after the husband was arrested for spraying insecticide at pedestrians during an altercation in Tuen Mun on Sunday. The 77-year-old man, known only as Mr Ho, reportedly became embroiled in a dispute with a 41-year-old woman and her son at around 3pm on Sunday, near an exit at Siu Hong MTR station. During the confrontation, he allegedly produced a can of bug spray and used it, causing minor inflammation to the woman's hand. She was treated at Tuen Mun Hospital. Her son, 15, phoned the police, who attended the scene and arrested the elderly man on suspicion of administering poison with intent to injure, an offence that carries a potential penalty of up to three years in prison. Online footage shows Mr Ho retrieving a canister from his wife's cloth bag, where he was heard saying, 'Cockroach spray, there are cockroaches,' before spraying the insecticide towards the person filming. Online footage shows 'Mr Ho' allegedly spraying the insecticide towards the person filming. Photo: Handout The couple first gained public attention in May last year due to their whirlwind romance and marriage, which became a media sensation after Ho wed his mainland Chinese wife, a divorcee, just one month after they met.
BBC News
24-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Scientists propose new ways to comot malaria from mosquitoes body
US researchers tok say make dem dey give Mosquitoes malaria drugs to clear dia infection so dem no go fit spread di disease. Malaria parasites, fit kill nearly 600,000 pipo yearly, mostly children, na female mosquitoes dey spread am wen dem suck blood. Current effort aim to kill mosquitoes wit insecticide rather dan curing dem of malaria. But one team for Harvard University don find pair of drugs wey fit successfully comot malaria from di insects body wen dem absorb am through dia legs. Coating bed nets in di drug cocktail na di long-term aim. Sleeping under bed na one of di most successful ways of preventing malaria as di main malaria-spreading mosquitoes dey hunt for night. Also, dem dey recommend vaccines to protect children wey dey live in high-risk malaria areas. Nets are na both physical barrier and also contain insecticides wey fit kill mosquitoes wey dey land on dem. But mosquitoes don become resistant to insecticide in many kontris so di chemicals no longer kill di insects as effectively as dem bin dey do. "We neva really try to directly kill parasites in di mosquito bifor dis, becos we bin just dey kill di mosquito," Dr Alexandra Probst, Harvard researcher tok. However, she say di approach no longer dey effective. Di researchers analyse malaria DNA to find possible weak spot while e dey infect mosquitoes. Dem use potential drugs and narrowed am down to shortlist of 22. Dem test wen female mosquitoes give blood-meal contaminated wit malaria. Inside dia article in Nature, di scientists describe two highly effective drugs wey dey kill 100% of di parasites. Dem dey test di drugs were on material similar to bed nets. "Even if dat mosquito survives contact wit di bed net, di parasites within go die and so e no fit transmit malaria,"Dr Probst tok. "I tink say dis na really exciting approach, becos na totally new way of targeting mosquitoes demselves." She tok say di malaria parasite dey less likely to become resistant to di drugs as dem get billions of dem for each infected person, but less dan five in each mosquito. Di effect of di drugs go last for one year on di nets, potentially making am di cheap and long-lasting alternative to insecticide, di researchers tok. Dis approach don dey proven in di laboratory. Dem don already plan di next stage for Ethiopia to see if di anti-malarial bed nets dey effective in di real world. E go take at least six years bifor all di studies go dey complete to know if dis approach go work. But di vision na to get bed nets treated wit both anti-malaria drugs and insecticide so if one approach no work, den di oda go work.
BBC News
21-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Target mosquito parasites with drugs to cut malaria, study says
Mosquitoes should be given malaria drugs to clear their infection so they can no longer spread the disease, say US parasites, which kill nearly 600,000 people a year, mostly children, are spread by female mosquitoes when they drink efforts aim to kill mosquitoes with insecticide rather than curing them of a team at Harvard University has found a pair of drugs which can successfully rid the insects of malaria when absorbed through their legs. Coating bed nets in the drug cocktail is the long-term aim. Sleeping under a bed net has been one of the most successful ways of preventing malaria as the main malaria-spreading mosquitoes hunt at to protect children living in high-risk malaria areas are also are both a physical barrier and also contain insecticides which kill mosquitoes that land on mosquitoes have become resistant to insecticide in many countries so the chemicals no longer kill the insects as effectively as they used to."We haven't really tried to directly kill parasites in the mosquito before this, because we were just killing the mosquito," says researcher Dr Alexandra Probst, from she says that approach is "no longer cutting it". The researchers analysed malaria's DNA to find possible weak spots while it is infecting mosquitoes. They took a large library of potential drugs and narrowed it down to a shortlist of 22. These were tested when female mosquitoes were given a blood-meal contaminated with malaria. In their article in Nature, the scientists describe two highly effective drugs that killed 100% of the drugs were tested on material similar to bed nets."Even if that mosquito survives contact with the bed net, the parasites within are killed and so it's still not transmitting malaria," said Dr Probst."I think this is a really exciting approach, because it's a totally new way of targeting mosquitoes themselves."She says the malaria parasite is less likely to become resistant to the drugs as there are billions of them in each infected person, but less than five in each mosquito. The effect of the drugs lasts for a year on the nets, potentially making it a cheap and long-lasting alternative to insecticide, the researchers approach has been proven in the laboratory. The next stage is already planned in Ethiopia to see if the anti-malarial bed nets are effective in the real world. It will take at least six years before all the studies are completed to know if this approach will work. But the vision is to have bed nets treated with both anti-malaria drugs and insecticide so that if one approach doesn't work, then the other will.
Bloomberg
21-05-2025
- Health
- Bloomberg
To Reduce Malaria, Treat Infected Mosquitos
In the fight against malaria, global health workers have long relied on bed nets treated with insecticide to ward off disease-transmitting mosquitos. But with insecticide resistance rising, a new study suggests an alternative approach: Use drugs to cure the insects before they can infect anyone. Malaria spreads when a mosquito infected with a parasite bites a human.
