In 1973, Montana released a gall fly to control spotted knapweed; decades later, the biocontrol program was linked to over 3 times more hantavirus-positive deer mice
North AmericaScienceModerate confidence — 66/100
Gall flyA biological control project started half a century ago to destroy a stubborn invasive weed accidentally set off an ecological chain reaction that increased human exposure to a deadly virus.
In 1973, wildlife officials and agricultural scientists in Montana released two species of European gall flies, Urophora affinis and Urophora quadrifasciata, to control the spread of spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe).
Decades later, major research published in Ecology Letters and archived by the US Forest Service Treesearch database found that the flies became a common winter food source for nati
Unverified
Gall flyA biological control project started half a century ago to destroy a stubborn invasive weed accidentally set off an ecological chain reaction that increased human exposure to a deadly virus.
In 1973, wildlife officials and agricultural scientists in Montana released two species of European gall flies, Urophora affinis and Urophora quadrifasciata, to control the spread of spotted knapweed (Centaurea stoebe).
Decades later, major research published in Ecology Letters and archived by the US Forest Service Treesearch database found that the flies became a common winter food source for nati