9 May 2005

French Polynesia to fight fly pest with other insect

2:34 pm on 9 May 2005

The authorities in French Polynesia have released a type of wasp to in a bid to fight a fly widely seen as a pest.

Under the programme, a so-called killer wasp is to destroy a fly that was introduced from the US in 1999 but which has become a nuisance because of its secretions.

The fly can suck up to a thousand times its weight to a release a droplet every three minutes.

The introduced mini-wasp doesn't sting humans, but hampers the reproduction of the fly by laying its eggs into the fly's nest.

Just over 500 such wasps have been released in Tahiti before more are planned to be released on other islands.