Beijing is mobilizing one billion bees in a battle to wipe out the American white moths.

 

The billion-strong army of larvae-eating bees, the moth's natural predator, will soon be released by Beijing entomologists.

 

"These little insects have a strong ability to hunt and produce no negative effects on people, the local environment and other beneficial insects," said Tao Wanqiang, head of the Beijing Forest Protection Station Monday.

 

"The offsprings of the bees will also have a long-term positive impact on preventing and controlling the pest plague," said the researcher.

 

The American white moth, a ravenous plant-eater native to North American forests, is a prolific breeder that can lay up to 3,000 eggs at a time and spawn 30 million to 200 million descendants in one year, with larvae capable of stripping a healthy tree of foliage in a matter of days.

 

They are now chomping up large amounts of vegetation in Beijing as well as its neighboring municipalities and provinces, Tianjin, Hebei and Liaoning.

 

The number of counties and districts under Beijing's jurisdiction attacked by the moth has increased from four in 2004 to nine, said Wei Diansheng of the State Forestry Administration.

 

Weapons to be used in the battle also include spraying by planes, insecticide lamps and the introduction of an anti-American white moth virus, according to the researcher.

 

An egging American white moth female (Photo: thebeijingnews.com)

 

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2006)