(WKYT) – Cattle and insect experts are tracking the New World screwworm.
It’s a fly that can burrow its larvae into the wounds of warm-blooded animals like livestock.
Experts say the insect was eradicated back in the 1950s, but now it’s back in Texas.
The head of the Bluegrass Stockyards discussed his concern about Kentucky cattle. An entomologist also discussed the decreasing insect population happening worldwide.
You may not like bugs, but our ecosystem depends on them.
Kentucky livestock at risk
The New World screwworm — could it come to Kentucky and impact livestock? The Commonwealth is near the top of the food chain in terms of the number of cattle head east of the Mississippi River.
“Here you could establish a temporary population here, but our winter would kill them off, but that is a possibility and it is a concern,” said Jim Akers, chief operations officer of the Bluegrass Stockyards.
Akers said for him, pets traveling across the country are a bigger worry. A screwworm could latch on to its fur and spread the fly across state lines.
“That’s actually a bigger risk because those pet owners aren’t tuned in to what’s going on like those of us in the industry are,” Akers said.
Worldwide insect decline a larger concern
The New World screwworm is a smaller issue compared to what experts say is a worldwide decline in the insect population.
Meet Dr. Jonathan Larson.
“I’m the bug guy,” Larson said.
Some may look and think these are pests, but they are important to our well-being.
“They are vital pieces of machinery that we call nature all around us. Insects are eaten by everything else. Insects feed on everything else to keep pest populations in check,” said Larson, UK extension entomologist.
Dr. Larson said the decline has been happening for 60 years and we’ve likely lost 60% to 70% of the planet’s insect biomass. The reasons — he points to climate variability, incorrect use of pesticides and habitat loss due to development.
“We can maintain some wild spaces or we could install them afterward as part of the landscape architecture of that area,” Larson said.
He shows his on-campus office of insects. The existence of these Kentucky creatures have his concern — the giant silk moth and the io moth.
These little animals are small but mighty.
“Once you start pulling cogs and things out of the machine, things start to go haywire. That’s the insects. It’s the thing you didn’t know that was part of the machine, but once they’re gone nothing is clicking and working the way it ought to be,” Larson said.
There is some good news in the insect world. Dr. Larson said the honeybee population is on the rebound.