> I understand your skepticism, as some really odd things can
> happen, but the logic behind that statement is firm: if the
> insects cannot mature, they cannot reproduce, and it is through >
> reproduction that resistance is passed on.
> I suppose that insects exposed to the chemical might magically > begin to
> reproduce earlier in their own generation (yeah, right), > but as the
> stuff also stops eggs and larvae from maturing, I
> don't see how it's possible for the population to continue.
OK, I will expand on the reason for my skepicism. First, note that
my experience is in weed control, which you might argue is not the same.
Also, I do not know how enstar works. If it has a general effect
like dissolving the exoskeleton or some such, then I would expect it to work
for a long time in most situations. But if its effect is disruption by
preventing the action or replacing some specific chemical in the development
process, there is a good chance that some variant of that chemical is not
affected. There is a surprising amount of variation in individual genes:
look at the variation in people. All you need is a bug that happens to
carry the variant, and it doesn't need to be total immunity - a slowing of
the process will lead to slower maturity, but we are off and running, or at
least walking. It doesn't have to be the same species. A close relative
will do. This approach we have of putting species in separate boxes is an
artificial concept. The reality is less clear - hence for example the
arguments that taxonomists get into. Also, it may not need reproduction
between closely-related species. Bacteria sometimes can carry pieces of
their host's genetics around. This is one way the plant breeders are moving
genes between species these days. So I expect that some insect somewhere
some time will develop resistance to enstar - and I would bet the farm on
that.
John
Waddington
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