The barren flies are sent to mate in the fields with flies and thus prevent the creation of a further generation of the Mediterranean fly that harms agriculture
Israeli-made barren flies will be exhibited at the international agricultural exhibition "Agritech 2006" which opens today at the fair center in Tel Aviv. Those who wish will be able to order a million flies in bags at the price of 900 dollars instead. Those who settle for the pupae of the flies will receive a discount and will be able to purchase one million pupae at a price of 750 dollars and continue to grow them on their own.
The CEO of Agritech, Danny Meiri, said that the barren flies are a sought-after product in the agricultural sector and are used in the fight against the Mediterranean fly, which is one of the most serious pests in the plant branches in Israel. The barren flies are scattered in the agricultural areas, take the place of the fertile flies, mate with the flies and thus the next generation of the Mediterranean fly is small. Meiri said that due to the enormous fertility of the normal flies, it is necessary to repeat the dispersal of the barren flies twice a week according to an organized work plan.
These days barren flies are scattered on the Israeli and Jordanian side of the steppe. Following the success of the project, the dispersal of flies also begins in orchards in the Eshkol area of the Western Negev and will soon also begin in an orchard in the Beit Shean valley. Another planned project is the dispersal of the flies in the mango orchards in the Hama area in the North of the Sea of Galilee.
Meiri pointed out that until a year ago the Israeli farmers had to import the sterile flies from a factory in Guatemala. The flies would arrive in Israel exhausted after 40 hours of flight without enough oxygen with a long wait for the onward flights and were sometimes left without strength to mate with the flies that were waiting for them in Israel. Now farmers can purchase sable flies that arrive young and at the peak of vigor and vigor.
The "BIO-B" factory in Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu specializes in the production of insects that are natural enemies in agriculture. The creation of the flies is done by the subsidiary "Bio-Fly". The factory's production potential is 15-20 million flies per week.
