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peach with sterile fruit fly on it.

Close-up of peach with sterile fruit fly on it. - - IAEA/FAO Mediterranean Fruit Fly Eradication Project.. Italy, July 1967. Capri is the site of an attempt to exterminate the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis Capitata) by introducing huge numbers of flies bred in the laboratory and sterilised using an atomic reactor. It is hoped that the resulting abortive unions will lead to extinction of a pest which each year destroys large quantities of fruit. The project is a joint venture between the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) of Vienna and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of Rome, together with the atomic energy agencies of Israel and Italy, the Italian Ministry of Agriculture and the Citrus Marketing Board of Israel. Each week, several million sterile flies are flown in pupa form for Israel to Rome and then to Capri where they are released and their movements carefully tracked by a team of Italian and international scientists and technicians, headed by IAEA entomologist David Nadel (USA). The pupae are transferred after their arrival to large white paper bags containing wood shavings sprayed with sugared water and allowed to mature before release of the fully-formed flies, 36 hours later.

Undated photo

Country or Territory Italy

File size 387.36 KB

Unique ID UF1UU8

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