Science Journalism

[ryan costa]

The Pink Fairy Armadillo is a member of the Armadillo family. It is about 4 inches long, and enjoys eating ants and burrowing underground.

Scientists are interested in releasing thousands of them into the wild in the Southern United States. Just to see what happens.

[Brian Pedaci]

Are you serious or is this another case of sarcasm laid so thick that the point is obscured?

If you are serious, please provide a link to an article supporting your claim.

[ryan costa]

the "scientists" should be singular. and I am not really a scientist.

There are reports of areas of the the south being overwhelmed by Ants though.

I would have suggested birds. Birds eat a lot of insects. But most of them have never been very good at digging into the ground.

[Stephen Eisel]

lion man (CLICKY)

[Stephen Eisel]

Ryan, does their meat taste fruity?

[Jerry Ritcey]

Fire ants are a big problem in parts of the South. Aside from using harsh chemicals - which could have long term environmental consequences - some have tried using biological controls. Parasitic wasps and nematodes have been tried. The idea is that once the fire ant population dies off, so do the organisms used against them.

http://fireant.tamu.edu/materials/facts ... 002rev.pdf

[Stephen Eisel]

Fire ants are a big problem in parts of the South. Aside from using harsh chemicals - which could have long term environmental consequences - some have tried using biological controls. Parasitic wasps and nematodes have been tried. The idea is that once the fire ant population dies off, so do the organisms used against them.

http://fireant.tamu.edu/materials/facts ... 002rev.pdf

One of the science Channels (TLC, Disc. or NG) did a special on a group of farmers who were using the parasitic wasp instead of pesticides.

[ryan costa]

and they look like Pokemon. The kids love it.