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The New World screwworm has cattle ranchers, entomologists, and the federal government on edge. The pest was successfully eradicated from the US decades ago, but has recently been moving north from South America into Central America and Mexico, with concerns that it may cross the border into Texas. It’s notorious for laying eggs in the wounds of animals and slowly eating them from the inside out.
Guest: Dr. Sonja Swiger is an entomologist and professor at Texas A&M in Stephenville, Texas.
The New World screwworm has cattle ranchers, entomologists, and the federal government on edge. The pest was successfully eradicated from the US decades ago, but has recently been moving north from South America into Central America and Mexico, with concerns that it may cross the border into Texas. It’s notorious for laying eggs in the wounds of animals and slowly eating them from the inside out. Host Flora Lichtman speaks with entomologist Sonja Swiger about past efforts to get rid of the New World screwworm, and why that process involves dropping millions of bugs out of airplanes.
Guest: Dr. Sonja Swiger is an entomologist and professor at Texas A&M in Stephenville, Texas.
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
QUICK LINKS
This is an episodic podcast, so you can listen to it in any order, but episode one is a great place to start.
Listen to episode one hereThe New World screwworm has cattle ranchers, entomologists, and the federal government on edge. The pest was successfully eradicated from the US decades ago, but has recently been moving north from South America into Central America and Mexico, with concerns that it may cross the border into Texas. It’s notorious for laying eggs in the wounds of animals and slowly eating them from the inside out. Host Flora Lichtman speaks with entomologist Sonja Swiger about past efforts to get rid of the New World screwworm, and why that process involves dropping millions of bugs out of airplanes.
Guest: Dr. Sonja Swiger is an entomologist and professor at Texas A&M in Stephenville, Texas.
Transcripts for each episode are available within 1-3 days at sciencefriday.com.
Subscribe to this podcast. Follow our show on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and Bluesky @scifri and sign up for our newsletters. Got a science question that’s keeping you up at night? Call us: 877-472-4374
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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