Moths Threaten Olympics

Now there's a headline that you don't see everyday!

It seems that the 2008 Beijing Olympics are under threat from an invasion of moths.

The American White Moth has benn entering China, from the North East, since 1979. It now poses a serious threat to trees and crops in Beijing and five other provinces.

Cao Qingyao, spokesman of the State Forestry Administration (SFA), is quoted as saying:

"The moth, that strips trees and crops of their foliage, could impact on Beijing's 2008 Olympics if not controlled."

Apparently 50,000 trees in 933 villages around Beijing's 9 districts and counties have been affected by the swarm of moths.

Wu Jian, chief engineer of SFA's department of forestation, said:

"Beijing is preparing to host a green Olympics in 2008. Without timely control, the moth may turn the green Olympics into a brown one by eating all the leaves from Beijing's trees."

He added:

"This year, our moth-control will target about 16,000 hectares of woodland in Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei and Liaoning."

One green solution to the problem is to use parasitic bees, which are the natural enemy of the moth.

The costs of these pests are high, aside from the potential damage to the Olympics, the annual costs run to over $8BN per annum.