Can cocaine-loving caterpillars solve Colombia's drug problem?
Can cocaine-loving caterpillars solve Colombia's drug problem?
16:44, 14 May 2015
By Olivia Solon
The larva of the Eloria Noyeri moth could replace pesticides as a means to destroy crops of cocaine-producing plants
A caterpillar that only eats cocaine-producing plants could be used to help the Colombian government clamp down on the country's drug trade.
Colombia has been using a US-backed herbicide called glysophosate to destroy crops of cocaine plants (4 million acres of them) but President Juan Manuel Santos has just banned its use over health concerns.
The widely used herbicide is linked to cancer, according to research by the World Health Organisation, so Colombia is now seeking other ways to kill coca plants.
That's where the caterpillars come in.
Eloria noyesi is a beige coloured moth found mostly in Peru and Colombia. Before metamorphosing into a moth, the insect’s larva - the caterpillar - has a voracious appetite for leaves.
More:
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/science/can-cocaine-loving-caterpillars-solve-colombias-5698364
Environment & Energy:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/112785560
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