Apple Moth Eradication a Serious Threat Butterflies - Trichogramma wasp releases are planned to control the Apple Moth in and around the San Francisco Bay Area. A California state press release states that, "These wasps will not bother over-wintering monarch butterflies and they would not be released near threatened or endangered plants or butterflies and moths." The wasps will only destroy the larval offspring of the monarch butterflies, so saying that the adults will not be harmed is a very deliberate and misleading statement. Without the larva, there is no next generation of adult monarch butterflies. And the wasp is also a threat to all butterflies, not just monarchs. This is nothing less than butterfly genocide.
See http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/egov/Press_Releases/Press_Release.asp?PRnum=08-010

Trichogramma wasps are teeny, tiny flying creatures that won’t harm people, pets, or plants. Adult trichogrammas feed on pollen and nectar. It’s their young that wreak havoc on harmful worms and catepillars because trichogrammas parasitize the eggs of moths, worms, and butterflies (Lepidoptera). In fact, they are one of the most effective beneficial insects known for controlling lepidopterous insects. One note of warning: Don’t put these voracious creatures in your butterfly garden! And this warning comes from a supplier of these wasps. Please see http://www.marshallgrain.com/marshall/dept.asp?dept_id=3342

Aerial spraying in Santa Cruz and Monterey resulted in hundreds of health complaints. It is now known that that formulation included at least two carcinogens. Health risks from repeated, long-term exposure to synthetic pheromones are unknown.

So, if there is no impending agricultural disaster and no chance of eradicating the moth, why is this program being rammed down the throats of Bay Area residents before even the Environmental Impact Report is completed? As with much that has transpired the last seven years, it seems to have a lot to do with cronyism and corporate profiteering. The company which will do the spraying has long-standing relationships with Blackwater Security and the CIA, and the owner of the company that makes the moth pesticide is one of Governor Schwarzenegger's contributors (having contributed roughly $140,000). Already, $70 million dollars has been earmarked for the aerial spaying program.

Please see sample letter below.

INTEGRAL PATENT ASSOCIATES
San Francisco, CA 94118
www.department-of-justice.org


March 8, 2008

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi
450 Golden Gate Ave., 14th Floor
San Francisco, CA 9410

Dear Congresswoman Pelosi,

I am writing to express my grave concerns regarding the upcoming emergency aerial spraying of pesticides over urban areas of the Bay Area in an attempt to eradicate the Australian light brown apple moth. I believe this eradication effort is misguided and unnecessary, and based on the possible risks and rewards represents a gross imbalance in priorities between public health and the agriculture industry

By the wide geographic distribution of the moth between Los Angeles and Sonoma, combined with the very limited lifetime flying range of a moth (i.e., roughly 100 yards), it is clear that the moth has been in the state for many years. This is not an emergency situation! The moth does not travel fast and zero crop damage by the moth has been documented. The moth is also found in a number of other non-native territories across the globe (such as Hawaii, where it has been for 100 years), and it is not a significant pest in any of those territories.

It should also be noted that the "eradication" program won't successfully eradicate the moth. No pheromone eradication program has ever before succeeded. Plus, eradication is only feasible at the very initial stages of an infestation when thepopulation is well localized.

Because of health risks, urban aerial pesticide spraying should only be an option of last resort. Curiously, in the sprayings that took place in Santa Cruz and Monterey, no special procedures were in place to monitor health effects. However, several hundred adverse reactions were reported. The formulation that will be used over the Bay Area has not been disclosed, but it is known that the so-called "inert" ingredients of the formulation used on Santa Cruz and Monterey included at least two known carcinogens.

The "active" ingredient in the spray is a moth pheromone that confuses the mating of male moths. Use of pheromones for pest control is indeed progress. But as with every
stage in the progress of pesticide science, first the chemicals are identified, then synthesis processes are developed, and it is only much later that health and safety effects are fully understood. DNA sequencing data shows that 70% of the genes found in insects such as the fruit fly are shared by humans. It is folly at this stage in the understanding of hormones and pheromones to assume that repeated long-term exposure to large doses of insect pheromones will not have adverse health consequences, particularly for groups that are especially sensitive such as pregnant women and children.

So, if there is no impending agricultural disaster and no chance of eradicating the moth, why is this program being rammed down the throats of Bay Area residents before even the Environmental Impact Report is completed? As with much that has transpired the last seven years, it seems to have a lot to do with cronyism and corporate profiteering. The company which will do the spraying has long-standing relationships with Blackwater Security and the CIA, and the owner of the company that makes the moth pesticide is one of Governor Schwarzenegger's contributors (having contributed roughly $140,000). Already, $70 million dollars has been earmarked for the aerial spaying program. However, if eradication is never successful (which I believe is the expectation of all parties involved), then additional millions can also be expected to be allocated.

I urge you to help put a halt to this risky and ill-conceived project. There is no
impending emergency, eradication will not succeed at this point, and millions of Bay Area residents should not be subjected to an experimental pest eradication project that will involve years of monthly sprayings with pesticides.

Sincerely,

Jack Chernos
Member of the Board of Musicians for Peace

Please see out Alert at http://passion.edu/elearn/mod/resource/view.php?id=1514