Researchers find fire ant-killing virus
8 May, 2007 LM Direct!LUBBOCK, TX — According to various news reports, researchers have pinpointed a naturally occurring virus that kills fire ants, which arrived in the U.S. in the 1930s and now cause $6 billion in damage annually nationwide, including about $1.2 billion in Texas.
The virus caught the attention of U.S. Department of Agriculture researchers in Florida in 2002. The agency is now seeking commercial partners to develop the virus into a pesticide to control fire ants.
The virus was found in about 20 percent of fire ant fields, where it appears to cause the slow death of infected colonies.
"Certainly, we are excited about it," said Bob Vander Meer, the leader of the USDA research team in Gainesville, Fla. "I think the virus has great potential. No question about it."
Click here for a complete article from NBC5i in Fort Worth, Texas.
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