Screwworm Eradication Program Records for the Southwestern United States and Mexico

Collection

Identifier: MS0211

Staff Only

Content Description

The Screwworm Eradication Program Records for the Southwestern United States and Mexico contain documents related to sterile fly production plants in Mission, Texas, and Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico. Included in the records are reports, research data, correspondence, fly production and release records, manuscripts, manuals and regulations, publications, notes, case reports, photographs, public information materials, and artifacts.

Much of the collection relates to field research, the development of effective fly strains for mass rearing and distribution, and the release of sterile flies. The language of materials is mostly English, with some materials in Spanish. These records focus on research activities which supported eradication in the United States and Mexico. Materials originally located in this collection relating to Central America, the Caribbean, and North Africa have been removed.

Dates

Creation: 1922-2004
Creation: Majority of material found within 1960-1990

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Organizational History

The Screwworm Eradication Program includes U.S. domestic and international agricultural programs to eliminate the New World screwworm (Cochliomyia americana) from the North American continent. A flesh-eating pest of warm-blooded animals, the screwworm was brought under control using Sterile Insect Technique, which emphasizes biological control methods. The technique used in screwworm eradication involves raising large numbers of sterile flies in production facilities. The sterile flies are then released into the wild fertile population to overwhelm and eliminate it through interbreeding.