Friday, October 26, 2012

Dogs in the war against the weevil

We all know that the police use tracker dogs to search for drugs and explosives. Now a company has trained its dogs to detect the presence of the red palm weevil. What they have found is that the bug enters the palm at the base of the plant and there lays its eggs. The dogs are apparently able to sniff out the larvae of the weevil. At this stage the tree can be treated without having to destroy it.

The method has already been uses in other countries and other parts of Spain. Orihuela is now investigating further before dogs are put to work to save the historic palms of the city.

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