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sterile male flies
They drop sterile male flies to prevent wild medflies from reproducing. The sterile males outcompete wild males, and any eggs laid by wild females will not hatch.
- ✈️ Aircraft release 6-9 million sterile flies per flight, covering 1,750 square miles.
- 🧪 Sterilization is done with radiation, which does not make the flies radioactive but renders them sterile.
- 🎯 The goal is to achieve a density of one sterile fly per 20-40 square meters.
- 📉 This program has reduced medfly infestations from 7-8 per year to about 1 per year in targeted areas.
A small plane flies in a blue sky, with a red banner showing "6,000,000 flies on board" and an arrow pointing towards the plane.