Sterile Insect technique

• The sterile insect technique is a method of biological control, where numbers of sterile insects are released.
• The released insects are normally male as it is the female that causes the damage, usually by laying eggs in the crop or in the case of mosquitoes.
• The sterile males compete with the wild males for female insects.
• If a female mates with a sterile male then it will have no offspring, thus reducing the next generations’ population.
• Repeated release of insects can diminish small populations, though it could be impossible to eradicate it and is not efficient against dense insect populations.
• Insects are mostly sterilized with radiation.
• This technique has successfully been used to eradicate the Screw-worm fly (Cochliomyia hominivorax) in areas of North America.
• There have been many success in controlling species of fruit flies, most particularly the Medfly (Ceratitis capitata) and the Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens).