|
|
Article: New test to identify screwworm larvae.
- Article from:
- Agricultural Research
- Article date:
- September 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 U.S. Government Printing Office. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
The same technology that brought pregnancy test kits home is now being used to help identify larvae of the screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax, in the field. The test can differentiate them from those of a related screwworm, C. macellaria, which is not harmful to cattle.
A new test developed by ARS scientists at the Midwest Livestock Insects Research Laboratory in Lincoln, Nebraska, makes quick work of a complex identification process to distinguish screwworm larvae from close relatives in the fly family.
The test is expected to be used at airport terminals and other ports of entry to identify suspicious insects found on dogs, horses, and other animals which ...