Thumbnail Image

International Guidelines for Transboundary Shipments of Irradiated Sterile Insects

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Vienna, Austria ;

Pages 45 p.

Author FAO; IAEA;

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Booklet

Synopsis (short abstract) Transboundary shipments of irradiated sterile insects have taken place on a regular basis since the sterile insect technique (SIT) was first developed. Currently, this includes tephritid fruit fly pests, moths, new world screwworm, tsetse and mosquitoes. The SIT is under development for other species that may be included in future transboundary shipments. In 2022, the total number of sterile insects shipped was estimated at over 1 trillion in more than 20 000 shipments to 26 recipient countries from 14 sterile insect production facilities. During a period of almost 60 years, only very few problems associated with shipping live sterile insects across borders have been recorded. This includes one case in 2003 of non-irradiated New World screwworm that were shipped to a specific location for field release. There were no significant consequences because of the effective implementation of a contingency plan. The objective of these guidelines is to facilitate the formulation of more appropriate and harmonized regulatory frameworks for safe and timely transboundary shipments of irradiated sterile insects for SIT development and application.

Cite this content as:

FAO & IAEA. 2023. International Guidelines for Transboundary Shipments of Irradiated Sterile Insects. Vienna.

https://doi.org/10.4060/cc8029en

Language English

Also available in:
No results found.

Related items

Showing items related by metadata.

  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Guideline for packing, shipping, holding and release of sterile flies in area-wide fruit fly control programmes 2017
    Also available in:
    This guideline is an updated version of the one published in 2007. It is aimed at providing harmonized processes involved in the handling and release of sterile insects after production in mass rearing facilities to FAO or International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) member countries that want to embark on sterile insect technique (SIT) activities. There is also increased interest by the private sector in investing in sterile insect production and/or other SIT activities, and these harmonized guide lines on the post-production phase will facilitate SIT application and foster the commercialization of the SIT. This guideline resulted from two FAO/IAEA consultants' meetings with representatives of relevant SIT programmes, the first held in Sarasota, Florida, United States of America (April 2004) and the second in Vienna, Austria (August 2005). It also resulted from an in depth review of the first edition, conducted in 2014 and 2015 by SIT program managers and scientists working with SIT techn ology.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (stand-alone)
    Rearing codling moth for the sterile insect technique 2010
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    The codling moth Cydia pomonella is amongst the most severe pests of pome fruit in the temperate regions of the world. Broad-spectrum insecticides have mainly been used to control this pest resulting in several negative environmental consequences. The demand for alternative control techniques is therefore increasing worldwide, and includes synthetic growth regulators, mating disruption, attract and kill, microbiological control agents, and the sterile insect technique (SIT). The in tegration of sterile insects with these control practices within the context of area-wide integrated pest management offers great potential. However, efficient and effective mass-rearing of the target insect is a fundamental component of the SIT but its complexity for Lepidopteran pests is very often underestimated. There has been an increasing interest to develop codling moth SIT for integration with other control tactics over the past years. This document compiles and summarize s available information on the rearing of the codling moth in relation to the SIT. Aspects such as colonization, adult and larval diet, sexing, quality control, shipment, disease control, data recording and management are described. It is not a text book but is developed so that individual sections can be consulted by the reader when necessary. The document therefore, does not provide guidelines per se, nor is it a compendium of standard operating procedures, as these will need t o be developed for each rearing facility based upon local needs and availability of materials and ingredients. The document is an attempt to bring together all existing information on the rearing of codling moth.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Book (series)
    Guidelines for the Use of Mathematics in Operational Area-Wide Integrated Pest Management Programmes Using the Sterile Insect Technique with a Special Focus on Tephritid Fruit Flies 2016
    Also available in:
    No results found.
    This guideline will assist managers in the use of mathematics in area-wide Integrated Pest Management (AW-IPM) programmes using the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). It describes mathematical tools that can be used at different stages of suppression/eradication programmes. It provides simple methods for calculating the various quantities of sterile insects required so that more realistic sterile: fertile rates to suppress pest populations can be achieved. On the other hand, most SIT programmes ha ve information systems based on GIS that produces reliable profiles of historic information. Based on the results of past activities they describe what has happened in the last weeks but barely explain what is expected in the following weeks. With the help of this guideline current AW-IPM progammes can use that historic information to develop predictive models for their particular conditions to better plan control measures.
Show more

Users also downloaded

Showing related downloaded files

No results found.