How Healthy Were the Cornell Study Monarch Caterpillars?

[Chip Taylor]

All lep breeders have difficulties with diseases from time to time. We do
our best to minimize disease and replace all stocks whose deaths can be
attributed to disease. Some of the problems are related to shipping and
some of the breeders have made mistakes in handling their stocks.

None of the livestock used by in the Cornell study or in the studies
reported to date from Iowa State originated from MW. The breeding stock at
Cornell was derived from 4 males and 4 females more than five years ago.
This is the most disease free stock available. Unfortunately, this culture
will be terminated in July.

All the tests reported by these investigators were run with appropriate
controls. If disease had been a factor, this would have been evident in the
tests.


Monarch Watch
Email:  monarch at ukans.edu
WWW:  http://www.MonarchWatch.org/
Dplex-L:  send message "info Dplex-L" to Listproc at ukans.edu
Phone:  1 (888) TAGGING (toll-free!) -or- 1 (785) 864 4441
Fax:  1 (785) 864 4441 -or- 1 (785) 864 5321
Snail:  c/o O.R. Taylor, Dept. of Entomology, Univ. of KS, Lawrence KS 66045