Screwworm Eradication Program Records for the Southwestern United States and Mexico

Collection

Identifier: MS0211

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Southwestern United States and Mexico Collection: Screwworm Eradication Program Records consist of the materials produced by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA, APHIS) and Agricultural Research Service (ARS) during the daily activities of eradicating the screwworm from the Southwestern United States and Mexico from the 1930s through the mid-1990s. The materials were generated by the screwworm program’s administrative headquarters in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, the multiple laboratories in Texas, most significantly Mission and Kerrville, and the laboratory in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico. The majority of the materials are correspondence, reports, and data, but screwworm release maps, bound data journals, and specimen collection forms are also present. The materials are in good condition and make up five series with a number of subseries. This collection spans 58 linear feet and contains materials from 1922 to 2013; the bulk of materials are from 1960 to 1990.

The Southwestern United States and Mexico Collection: Screwworm Eradication Program Records are arranged into five different series, reflecting content, organizational structure, and geographic location. Though the materials were not, in most cases, organized when accessioned by National Agricultural Library (NAL), the original order of the materials has been retained wherever possible. The first series consists of materials relating to the screwworm program at large and includes general administrative materials, general correspondence, and travel information relating to professional meetings, conferences, and trip reports. The second series consists entirely of publications and is divided by those publications used by the ARS scientists for research, manuscripts written by ARS scientists, and some ephemeral materials like brochures and newsletters.

The final three series are divided by geographical location, including the Southwestern United States, Texas, and Mexico. The first series relates to the Southwestern U.S. screwworm program and is organized by Southwestern States in general; states included are Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Oregon. Series IV covers Texas specifically, since the bulk of the materials for this region came out of the Texas program, where the screwworm problem was more widespread. The final series (Series V., Fieldwork in Mexico) contains materials related to the USDA-APHIS Screwworm Research Unit’s activities in Mexico and is divided by administrative records, reports, and data. Further description of the materials contained in each series and subseries may be found in the series description.

Dates

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

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are in good condition and there are no restrictions on use. 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.

Timeline of U.S. Department of Agriculture Screwworm Research Highlights

1858: First reported screwworm cases on Devil's Island, French Guiana

1933: Emory Clayton Cushing and Walter S. Patton recognized screwworm fly as its own species, Cochliomyia hominivorax (different from the blowfly species)

1934: USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS) established research station at Valdosta, Georgia (closed 1936) to conduct research on screwworms by scientists Ernest William Laake and Edward Fred Knipling

1935: ARS secured funding for research on screwworms. Raymond C. Bushland began research on artificial diets for rearing screwworms

1937: Bushland and Knipling are transferred to ARS laboratory in Menard, Texas. Bushland began research on controlling screwworms through chemical means. Knipling began research on sterile male technique, an autocidal theory of total insect population management

1938: USDA developed Smear 62, an insecticidal wound treatment

1939: Bushland is transferred to Orlando, Florida, to conduct research on mosquito control

1940: Knipling is transferred to Orlando, Florida, to conduct research on insects affecting man

1946: Bushland transferred to ARS laboratory in Kerrville, Texas. Knipling transferred to USDA-ARS headquarters in Washington, D.C.

1950: Arthur W. Lindquist introduced Knipling to Hermann Joseph Muller's research on genetic mutations in fruit flies by radiation. Bushland and Donald E. Hopkins began tests on sterilization of screwworms using radiation

1951: Alfred H. Baumhover arrived at Kerrville, Texas, to work on screwworm eradication using sterile male technique. Sanibel Island, Florida, was the first field test to use the sterile male technique

1954: Baumhover traveled to Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, and began successful screwworm eradication campaign using sterile male technique

1955: Baumhover returned to Orlando, Florida, to work on eradication of screwworms from the Southeast United States. Mass rearing techniques were developed

1955-1957: A mass fly production facility for rearing screwworms is built in Bithlo, Florida. Screwworms successfully eradicated in a 2000 square mile field test area near Orlando, Florida

1958: ARS built mass fly production facility near Sebring, Florida

1959: Screwworms successfully eradicated from the Southeast United States

1962: ARS Southwest United States screwworm eradication program began with flies produced at the Kerrville, Texas, ARS laboratory. Mass production facility built at Mission, Texas

1963: ARS developed program specializations. Billy Gene Hightower studied screwworm ecology in Texas. Alfred H. Baumhover studied sterile fly distribution. Leo E. LaChance studied screwworm genetics. Maxwell M. Crystal studied chemosterilants

1964: Baumhover transferred to Oxford, North Carolina, to work with the Tobacco Insects Investigations

1966: USDA declared screwworms eradicated from Southwest United States, except Texas continued to be infested until 1982. United States and Mexico conducted a feasibility survey for a screwworm eradication program in Mexico, which resulted in the establishment of a screwworm eradication program in Mexico

1974: The Lincoln-Eden Report, "The Southwestern Screwworm Eradication Program: A Review," is published. Charles G. Lincoln and William Gibbs Eden were tasked with evaluating the Southwestern United States Screwworm Eradication program after poor results spanning 1972-1974. They concluded that the program was a success despite some minor faults and the research should continue

1977: The ARS Screwworm Research Unit relocated from the Mission, Texas, laboratory to a sterile fly production facility near Tuxtla Gutierrez in Chiapas, Mexico

1984: A new gelled diet is developed by ARS for use in mass rearing screwworms

1990: "Severn Run's Cazador," a German wirehaired pointer, is trained by John Bertram Welch to detect screwworm larvae and screwworm infested animals

1991: Mexico was declared screwworm free

1994: Screwworms eradicated from Belize and Guatemala. Panama City, Republic of Panama, became the headquarters for the USDA-ARS Screwworm Research Unit

1995: Screwworms eradicated from El Salvador

1996: Screwworms eradicated from Nicaragua

1999: Screwworms eradicated from Honduras

2000: Costa Rica declared screwworm free

Total Size of Collection

110 letter_document_box

12 legal_document_box

1 boxes (1 box, 29 x 23 x 3)

58 Linear Feet (123 boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

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.

Custodial History

Most of the collection was donated to National Agricultural Library by Paul T. Stanford, an administrator for the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Weslaco, Texas, in 1997. In 1998, two additional boxes were donated by Sidney Kunz, an ARS scientist in Kerrville, Texas, and were added into the collection.

Accruals

This is a growing collection.

Appendix A: Related Collections

Listed below are screwworm related manuscript collections housed in Special Collections, National Agricultural Library as of June 2007:

Artifacts: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 348.

Audiovisual Materials: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 215.

Baumhover, Alfred H., Papers: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 266.

Graham, Owen Hugh, Papers: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 213.

Husman, Chester N., Awards: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 349.

International Collection: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 355.

Knipling, Edward Fred, Papers: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 210.

Oral Histories: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 305.

Promotional Materials: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 214.

Severn Run's Cazador (Caz), Screwworm Detection Dog, Collection: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 310.

Southeastern United States Collection: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 212.

Southwestern United States and Mexico Collection: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 211.

USDA Entomology Research Division Records. Manuscript Collection 237.

Wyss, John, Papers: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Manuscript Collection 338.

Bibliography

Baumhover, Alfred H., Papers: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Special Collections, National Agricultural Library.
Oral Histories: Screwworm Eradication Program Records. Special Collections, National Agricultural Library.
Screwworm Research Unit. "History of USDA-ARS Screwworm Research and the USDA-ARS Screwworm Research Unit." Accessed October 3, 2005 from https://www.ars.usda.gov/.

Genres

agricultural art and memorabilia, maps, photographs

Processing Information

Emelie M. George and Lindsey Loeper, both graduate student assistants from the College of Information Studies at the University of Maryland, College Park, arranged and described the collection during 2004 and 2006.