Millions of flies to be dropped over Texas to combat flesh-eating maggots

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to release millions of sterile, irradiated flies over Texas and Mexico to combat the New World Screwworm, an insect whose flesh‑eating larvae infest wounds of animals and humans. Sterile male flies will mate with wild females, leading to infertile eggs and reducing the population. Though eradicated from the U.S. in 1966, screwworms have recently reemerged in Texas after an outbreak in Mexico, the Independent has reported. To support the program, a breeding facility in Mexico and a distribution center in Texas will open next year, reviving a method that nearly eliminated the pest decades ago.