Jan. 7, 2010
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James R. Carey |
DAVIS--James Carey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, is featured in the Jan. 8, 2010 edition of Science Magazine.
The NewsFocus piece, headlined "From Medfly to Moth: Raising a Buzz of Dissent," zeroes in on his theories about the establishment and eradication of the Mediterranean fruit fly and the light brown apple moth.
Ingfei Chen, a science writer in Santa Cruz, penned the three-page piece..
The abstract:
In February 2007, a voracious new invasive pest—the light brown apple moth from Australia, dubbed LBAM—was identified in Berkeley, California. The insect's larvae feed on more than 2000 plant species, from apples, grapes, and berries to cypress trees. The California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) launched a program of aerially spraying a pheromone to disrupt the insect's mating. But those efforts prompted a red-hot public ruckus, forcing the state to shift to a plan to release zillions of sterile moths to achieve the same ends.
James Carey of the University of California, Davis, a prominent opponent of California's efforts to eradicate Medflies in the early 1990s, has surfaced once again as a relentless voice of dissent.
His core argument is essentially the same. Contrary to the agriculture agencies' view that the moth is a new and vanquishable arrival, he thinks it was established long ago and is too widespread to wipe out. The idea of a long-standing invasion can't be discounted, yet it is hard to prove or disprove. But it is Carey's take-no-prisoners style, as much as his bold scientific interpretations, that has riled agriculture officials from Sacramento to Washington, D.C.
Carey is quoted as saying that the effort to eradicate the light brown apple moth is "throwing money down a rat hole."
"...he thinks the state should instead shift to areawide pest management of the moth," Chen wrote.
Related Links:
James Carey's Web site
Lifespan, Aging and Death of Insects (Watch One-Hour Webcast)
UC Davis Entomologists Targeting Light Brown Apple Moth
CDFA Light Brown Apple Moth Program
Medfly Infestation in Dixon, Calif.
Carey Publications:
Carey JR (1991). Establishment of the Mediterranean fruit fly in California.
Science. 253, 1369-1373. Link to PDF.
Carey JR (1996). The future of the Mediterranean fruit fly population in
California: a predictive framework. Biological Conservation. 78, 35-50. Link to PDF.
More Carey medfly publications
Molecular research by separate investigators on medfly infestations in California
Excel chart of California cities and medfly captures (James Carey)
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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
