Pretty good informational meeting last night in Johnson City, put on by the Extension Service. Primary speakers were Dr Sonia Swiger (Extension entomologist from Stephenville), Dr Dustin Dorris (TAHC vet), a couple of local vets, and a director from TPWD. Probably 100+ attendees. Two bits of information came out that were of particular interest to me.
1) NWS fly activity becomes dormant below 59 degrees -- I'd always wondered what the threshold was, and that's it. The absolute optimum temp that maximizes NWS activity is mid-high 80's, so...ugh.
2) Efficacy of fly tubs etc in being beneficial is relatively low. Any mode of action that treats manure for fly control won't really impact NWS, as manure doesn't figure in to their life cycle (that's what the living tissue feeding does for NWS and is what makes them unique). General fly control through Permethrin etc was really being pushed as a good control/prevention measure (not 100% effective, but it'll help).
One other thing that caught my attention was that the metric they're pushing to for sterile fly production is 500m / week production is what's needed to re-eradicate NWS. Right now we're at about 130m / week. The Edinburg facility adds 300m / week when it comes online in Fall 2027.
Makes me nervous that there is so much riding on the Edinburg facility. They seem to be placing all their bets on that. I hope and pray that they don't hit delays or sabotage on that facility, because I sure haven't been able to see any viable backup plan that's being executed from a fly production standpoint. (Not to say there isn't one, I just haven't heard of one.)
