Potential threat to monarch butterfly----beneficial microsporidia?

[Anne Kilmer]

JCW1925 at aol.com wrote:
> 
> Anne,
> 
>  Do you know if any studies have been done to determine if the beneficial
> microsporidia like nosema have the potential to harm the monarch butterfly?
> 
>       Do you think the  Nosemia commercial product presents a threat to the
> monarch butterfly?  If farmers are using this product to control locust and
> grasshoppers, I believe that is has great potential to harm the monarch
> butterfly----overspray of the living organism to milkweed fields.
> 
>     Attached is copy of email I received from a Canadian molecular
> biologist.Dr. Doolittle can very easily develop a PCR test for nosema spore.
> I think this has enormous funding potential.
> 
> James Wiggins
> Biogentex Laboratories, Inc
> 
> Subj:    Re: Nosema infection in monarch caterpillars
> Date:   3/29/00 6:38:00 AM Eastern Standard Time
> From:   ford at is.dal.ca (W. Ford Doolittle)
> To: JCW1925 at aol.com
> 
> James,
> 
> We aren't experts on the biology of Nosema, just the molecular biology.
> Yes it has spores -- and is used commercially in that form in locust
> control.  It should be very easy to develop a PCR test.  We already have
> many Nosema-specific primers.
> 
> W. Ford Doolittle
> Canadian Institute for Advanced Research - Program in Evolutionary Biology
> Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
> Dalhousie University
> Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4H7
> 
> Phone (902) 494-3569
> FAX   (902) 494-1355
> e-mail ford at is.dal.ca

I haven't the faintest idea.
Y'all want to field this one? 
I would like it better if the concern were for butterflies in general,
rather than Monarchs ... but never mind. 
Anne