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Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Coca Plants

By Jeralyn, Section Foreign Affairs
Posted on Thu Jun 09, 2005 at 07:37:54 PM EST
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The Colombian Government says is considering a newly proposed plan to eradicate the country's coca fields:

A group of Colombian scientists believe they've found a way to wipe out cocaine production: unleash an army of hungry moth caterpillars. But critics of the proposal say the chance for "ecological mischief" is high.

The plan envisions breeding thousands of beige-colored Eloria Noyesi moths in laboratories, packing them into boxes and releasing them into steamy coca-growing regions of Colombia, the world's main supplier of the drug. The moths, about twice the size of a fly, are native only to the Andean region of South America.

The moths would be better than infecting the plants with a fungus (tried in the past):

.... moths would better counter the replanting problem because they would continue to reproduce and attack the plants.

I can't wait to see the movie version.

[link via Huffington Post.]

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    Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Coca Plants | 23 comments (23 topical)
    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#1)
    by Sailor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:54 PM EST
    Gosh, introducing exotic species to contain an indigenous species. Boy, that's never been tried before. and if it has it worked perfectly. (yes, that was sarcasm ... disgust ... pounding head against wall.)

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#2)
    by Al on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:54 PM EST
    Whereupon Colombia was overrun by hordes of crazed moths high on cocaine...

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#3)
    by Ambiorix on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:54 PM EST
    So in a few years time, if your cocaïne contains high quantities of DDT-residues, it comes from Columbia.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:54 PM EST
    Have we learned nothing? There are plenty of examples worldwide of introduced species wreaking havoc on local ecologies. And I'm not even talking about species introduced by accident, or without thought -- I'm talking about species introduced expressly with the purpose of "solving" another problem. Take the cane toad -- it was introduced into Queensland, Australia in the 1930's to control the sugar cane beetle. It was a spectacular failure in its stated mission, due to the different life cycles of the toad and its intended target. BUT, it has been a spectacular success in reproducing and spreading like wildfire, killing native animals smaller than itself (it will eat anything that moves that it can fit into its mouth, and they've been known to grow up to 10 inches long), or native animals or pets larger than itself that try to bite or eat it (due to the toad's poison glands). This pest is now out of control, and continuing to spread westward across the top of Australia, and south into New South Wales. This type of meddling always has the potential for disaster -- for example, there is no way to know whether the moth catepillar might develop a taste for something else over time... Coffee, anyone?

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#5)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:54 PM EST
    The drug war insanity continues. What happens when these moths start eating crops. Are the American and Columbian governments willing to starve people just so Americans can't sniff lines? Rhetorical question, they both have proven they are willing to poison people for that end. Insanity is the only apt description.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#6)
    by SeeEmDee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    KDog, here's a frightening thought: what if all this crazy poisoning of the land had another intent. Poison the countryside, and you ruin arable land. A nation that can't grow its own food is necessarily dependent upon the goodwill of a stronger 'ally'. Which creates a ready made market for US agribusiness. Which is dominated by Big Agro corps like Archer Daniel Midlands. Who are good buddies with Monsanto, for obvious reasons. And Monsanto sells the crap they spray down there.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    Rabbits and Australia, anyone? Starlings and North America? Bad idea then, bad idea now.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#9)
    by kdog on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    Frightening indeed See. I wouldn't put it past them. narius....are you implying the war on drugs is waged to protect the enviroment from coca farmers? How can you justify all the poisoning we've helped the Columbian govt. perpetrate down there? Only a prohibitionist of the first order would give such a short-sighted idea a second look.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#11)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    Guys, The moth is native to the area. Read the article. While I generally agree that there may well be a problem with the over concentration of these moths in a small area, it is not equivalent to rabbits, starlings and cane toads which were introduced to non-native areas. Probably, within a short time, the local birds or whatever naturally predates on the moths, will increase their population due to the increased food source and effectively reduce the moth population to normal levels. A silly waste of money and time, for sure, but most likely not an ecological disaster.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#12)
    by Ambiorix on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    The moth is native to the area. Read the article.
    If you have to introduce the species then it is not native, it's that simple. Read the article. Besides being both on the same subcontinent, there is a huge difference between the hights of the Andes and equatorial Colombia.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#13)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    I read the article very closely, the word "introduce" is, simply, not in it. Ricardo Vargas, director of the Colombian environmental group Andean Action, says in the article that they're native, but such concentrations of the moths is unnatural.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#14)
    by pigwiggle on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    “If you have to introduce the species then it is not native, it's that simple. Read the article.” Come to Idaho and teach the wolves and grizzlies to read. Um, anyway, according to my atlas Columbia has its own bit of the Andes. Having a similar idea I bought a huge amount of ladybugs and a praying mantis eggcase from my local Western Garden Center. Sure, we have both here in Utah; there just weren’t enough ladybugs in my ivy patch to kill all the aphids and enough praying mantises in my vegetable garden to eat the pests. Now I’m a$$ deep in both.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#15)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    The policies of Colombian president Uribe have been DISASTROUS for the indigenous and poor. Poisoning of 'coca crops,' have eradicated nothing other than the health of those who live in the area. Spraying is, in fact, a well-known LAND DISPOSSESSION SCAM. The same people who are driving natives off their land (Can you say Occidental Petroleum?) are behind Uribe for the obvious reasons. Probably they will protest a 'solution' that doesn't involve petroleum products. And LOVE how the scientist says 'thousands' of moths. Do you really think 'thousands' will make much of a dent? Let's test it on one the earth's largest remaining rainforests, the Amazon. Given that the number of species has doubled and tripled through study of rainforest, we know next to NOTHING about which plants, which insects, and which birds will be negatively affected by this scheme. In the rainforest, and throughout ALL ecosystems, there are clines with niches. Move a species out of its niche, and especially out of its cline, and get ready for the fun to begin. And, one wonders, caterpillars who have fed on coca in fact TOXIC to birds, lizards, snakes, and frogs? Gomez also wants to release FUNGUS. That will REALLY help the native farmers in the region who aren't growing coca but just food to subsist. And, bottom line, I wonder which biological researchers will make MONEY on this scheme, eh, Sr. Gomez?

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#16)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    "And, one wonders, [are] caterpillars who have fed on coca in fact TOXIC to birds, lizards, snakes, and frogs?" If so, as I'm sure there are some kinds of caterpillars happily munching on leaves in the man-made, introduced, cocoa farms right now, shouldn't we then support the eradication of the farms to protect the environment?

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#17)
    by Mreddieb on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    I can see it now on the Faux daily News Alert "Today DEA confiscated over three hundred pounds of moths hiden in old clothes sent from Columbia destined for the Salvation Army".

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#18)
    by desertswine on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    This is an idea so stupid that it should be criminal. Reference the Hawaian po'ouli, a bird believed extinct since since November due to the detrimental effects of other, introduced, species; a minor tragedy in an era of unnecessary extinctions.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#19)
    by Patrick on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:55 PM EST
    I hope it works. Would be nice to have such a simple solution.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#21)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:56 PM EST
    narius:
    What is the big deal about extinction?
    We are not just talking about extinction...we are talking mass extinction. And we are causing it. We are the first species that can hope to plan our continued existence, unlike the dinosaurs, and can prevent other species from going extinct by our planning. That's a pretty big difference that you are overlooking. pigwiggle:
    Come to Idaho and teach the wolves and grizzlies to read.
    The wolves and grizzlies were recently re-introduced having been earlier wiped out by strychnine, bullets and traps on the orders of the cattle industry.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#22)
    by jimcee on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:56 PM EST
    Man I wish they would stop all this war on drugs nonsense. The majority of "introduced" species go on to cause more problems than their economic value. Starlings? I've got 'em. Who would intentionally introduce them. They are so annoying. Zebra Mussels? Check the intakes of the local nuclear power plant. Those friggin' brown sparrows that dominate the Ivy on my chimnney and bird feeder. Rock Doves (common pigeon). As if someone couldn't live without eating such a repulsive critter. Kudzu, Purple Loosestrife and myriad other bad choices often turn around and bite us in the a**. Leave the cocoa farmers alone. The thing that seems a bit dubious about this plan is that if these particular moths could thrive in the target area wouldn't they be there already? The WODrugs has gone from being a joke to being a toxin to civil liberties. By the way anyone else here get the crow "crowds" that show up in my town every winter? Thousands of crows. It's kind of cool but kind of messy as well. Oh. The crows are a native species but...

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#23)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:56 PM EST
    "Posted by sarca: "If so, as I'm sure there are some kinds of caterpillars happily munching on leaves in the man-made, introduced, cocoa farms right now, shouldn't we then support the eradication of the farms to protect the environment?" Support the eradication of the farms? That's like saying you support people not having sex any more. What kind of idiot thinks coca is cocoa? As for 'extinction,' and what's the problem with it -- the question is diagnostic, not rational.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#24)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:56 PM EST
    Nice evasion PIL. Fine, coca. Now answer the question without evasion...if you can.

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#25)
    by sarcastic unnamed one on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:56 PM EST
    Um, once again, the moths are native to the area. They are merely being used in higher concentrations than would naturally exist, like pigwiggles' lady bug and praying mantis example above. "Swarms of a usually rare, small white butterfly are gobbling up drug profits in Peru, where illegal coca growers are battling to save their crops from the insect. Known locally as malumbia, but otherwise classified by scientists as Eloria noyesi, the tiny butterfly eats nothing but coca leaves and this year has appeared in unprecedented numbers. Government officials, on the other hand, are considering raising large numbers of the butterfly and dropping them over remote growing areas." "The larvae of the moth Eloria Noyesi presents the most serious threat to the coca plant. This moth lives through out the coca-growing region of South America and seems to feed almost exclusively on E. coca. It has also been recorded feeding on E. novogranatense in Colombia and northern Peru. The larva will develop in about a month and will eat up to 50 leaves in its lifetime. The larva will also eat the shoots of the bush that grow out after harvest. If Eloria attacks a plant repeatedly, even a strong plant will die." "Wild swarms of the rare Eloria noyesi butterfly have decimated almost 50,000 acres of illegal coca crops in recent months, costing drug barons an estimated $37 million. The Government has asked entomologists to find ways to propagate the butterflies so it can drop them into inaccessible coca-growing regions."

    Re: Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Co (none / 0) (#26)
    by chupetin on Sat Dec 17, 2005 at 12:59:56 PM EST
    I hope it works. Would be nice to have such a simple solution.
    If it works all thats going to happen is the price of coke will go up. Supply and demand.

    Colombia Considers Killer Moths to Wipe Out Coca Plants | 23 comments (23 topical)