Insects Can Also Be Used As Weapons Of Terror

Mediterranean fruit fly (L.A. Times)

Could Ecoterrorists Let Slip The Bugs O War? -- Times Online

Insects can spread disease and destroy crops with devastating speed. Do not underestimate their potential as weapons.

The terrorists' letter arrived at the Mayor of Los Angeles's office on November 30, 1989. A group calling itself “the Breeders” claimed to have released the Mediterranean fruit fly in Los Angeles and Orange counties, and threatened to expand their attack to the San Joaquin Valley, an important centre of Californian agriculture.

With perverse logic, they said that unless the Government stopped using pesticides they would assure a cataclysmic infestation that would lead to the quarantining of California produce, costing 132,000 jobs and $13.4 billion in lost trade.

The infestation was real enough. It was ended by heavy spraying. It is still not known if ecoterrorists were behind it, but the panic it engendered shows that “the Breeders” were flirting with a powerful weapon.

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My Comment: It does not take much to cause devastation and economic loss on an enormous scale. Why spend millions in building a bio weapon .... just smuggle in a large number of fruit flies.