Word: mosquitoes
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...grebe's problems began in the late '40s when the local mosquito abatement district sprayed thousands of pounds of DDD, a chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticide, on Clear Lake to rid the area of swarms of buzzing black gnats. The chemical, a close cousin of DDT, worked so well that developers previously put off by the gnats began building houses around the lake...
Planting Fish. What could be done to clean up the mess? The mosquito abatement district switched from the persistent DDD to methyl parathion, a chemical that is effective against gnats but that deteriorates and becomes harmless in a short time. At the same time, the district hired a team of scientists from the University of California at Davis to find a way to control the gnats biologically. Led by Entomologist Sherburne F. Cook Jr., the team decided that a small fresh-water smelt, the Mississippi silverside, might find the gnats appetizing. In 1967 they "planted" 3,000 fingerlings...
...Peking government recently imposed a 20% to 24% "war preparation" tax on peasants' crops, in addition to the 16% to 18% the state normally takes. In towns in Kwangtung and Fukien provinces, long lines of refugees have been seen clutching baskets and bags containing such items as mosquito netting, washbasins and cooking utensils. They are heading for resettlement in the countryside...
...Aedes aegypti has indeed changed the course of history more effectively than any other animal, as your excellent "Hanoi Fever" story implied [Oct. 10]. Alexander the Great is only one of the mildly illustrious millions it has felled. But your illustration showed a male mosquito, and it is the female who is more deadly, being the "biter." I recently photographed a nonfatal femme Culex just emerged from its pupa, proboscis and all. After...
Bangkok's populace has been advised to empty standing containers of water, to fill in ruts, potholes and other potential mosquito-breeding sites. Hanoi newspapers are urging the citizenry to "kill mosquitoes and larvae, prevent mosquitoes from biting," and closely supervise "daily sanitation in houses, gardens and streets." There is neither a preventive vaccine nor a specific cure for the fever. A patient's biggest asset is a constitution strong enough to see him through the five or six critical days. Treatment is palliative at best. The most advanced medication suggested by Hanoi authorities is a fermented mixture...