Butterfly releases redux

[Patrick Foley]

Paul,

Your point is well made, but the data are still meager. Little research 
money goes into biological control, partly because it is hard to find 
agents that are specific enough to be safe to use. Partly because the 
USDA just does not seem interested.

Most highly virulent pathogens may be hardly noticeable because they 
knock down their hosts and thus themselves rapidly. Most "succesful" 
pathogens evolve less virulence. But the evolutionary ecology of disease 
is still understudied by ecologists.

Patrick Foley
patfoley at csus.edu

Paul Cherubini wrote:

>>There is little direct evidence either way about the harm done to
>>populations or metapopulations of butterflies by increasing rates of
>>migration. There is general theory on epidemiology that shows that it
>>all depends on the disease, the migration rates, the distribution of
>>alternative host and the fatality of the disease although for the
>>typical vertebrate with serious of conservation interest, migration
>>seems to be a plus. It would be great if the USDA (who
>>regulates butterfly releases) would fund some work on the problem, and
>>if the population biologists, epidemiologists and population geneticists
>>among us would do the work.
>>    
>>
>
>Pat, agricultural moths are responsible for most of the the pre and 
>postharvest insect feeding damage done to crops here in the USA. For
>many years USDA-APHIS has funded research that looked into possible 
>ways of deliberately infecting and destroying populations of some of 
>these moths using releases of disease pathogens.  My understanding is 
>that the success of these control methods have been marginal at best.  
>For example, in one study a APHIS researcher released a granulosis virus
>into peanut storage warehouses in Georgia once a week in an attempt to
>control the Indian Meal Moth.  A 50% reduction in the moth population 
>was the best level of control that could achieved (not nearly good 
>enough for a peanut storage warehouse manager). Thus we see that
>even when dealing with a CAPTIVE population of lepidopteran insects, 
>we have not yet found a way to devastate them using releases of 
>disease pathogens.
>
>Now look at what NABA does http://www.naba.org/weddings.html
>NABA confidently states:  " Butterflies raised by unregulated commercial 
>interests may spread diseases and parasites to wild populations, with 
>devastating results.
>
>The reality is that if anyone ever found a practical way to intentionally
>"devastate" either a wild or captive population of lepidopteran insects 
>using releases of disease pathogens, they would become overnight 
>millionaires. 
>
>Paul Cherubini
>Placerville, Calif.
>
> 
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