-PHOTO TAKEN 05APR06- Fruitflies lay eggs at the MOSCAMED facility in El Cerinal, Guatemala April 5,.....
-PHOTO TAKEN 05APR06- Fruitflies lay eggs at the MOSCAMED facility in El Cerinal, Guatemala April 5, 2006. Every week, Guatemalan scientists blast 2.7 billion fruit flies with radiation to make them sterile in a bizarre [nuclear war] against one of the world's most destructive farm pests. The flies, a threat to the fruit and vegetable [industry in California and Florida,] are then dropped from planes to copulate with fertile females in Guatemala, Mexico and the [United States.] As a pest control method, it is easier than killing flies, which once they infect a crop can reduce yields by over 50 percent. Picture taken April 5, 2006.