Does Bt Corn threaten any Rare Prairie Skippers

[Paul Cherubini]

> I wrote:
> 
> >I remember reading somewhere that the EPA said it was unaware of any
> >threatened or endangered lepidopterans that breed inside or at the edges
> >of corn fields.

Doug Yanega responded:
 
> Once again, you conveniently choose to ignore what the poster actually
> said: they said RARE prairie skippers, not ENDANGERED prairie skippers.
> *You* know, I know, EVERYONE here knows that there are thousands upon
> thousands of plants and insects on the verge of extinction everywhere in
> the world, including our own backyards, that are NOT on the official
> government-sanctioned Endangered or Threatened Lists *and never will be*.
> If you draw some magical politically-motivated line in the sand to claim
> that ONLY species on the official list should be paid attention to, then
> you are also burying your head in that same proverbial sand (or is it your
> proverbial head...?).
> You are truly a master of being disingenuous when it's convenient for you.

Doug, I merely stated what the EPA said. Below I have cut and pasted exactly
what the EPA said in regard to potential impacts of Bt corn on non-target leps
in 1998:

"A Biological Opinion was issued on Dec. 18, 1998 concerning the possible 
effect of foliar sprays of Bt on threatened or endangered species. The primary
route of exposure to Bt sprays is through either direct application to the crop
or as a result of drift from spray or aerial applications thus exposure potential
to Bt toxin incorporated within the plant is expected to be less than that of foliar
sprays"

"Because EPA expects that threatened or endangered Lepidopteran insects and
other species will not be exposed to the Bt delta endotoxin, and because the
most plausible exposure scenario does not appear to affect listed species, EPA
believes that this action [approval of the Bt corn registration] will have no
effect on any threatened or endangered species."

Paul Cherubini