The Value of Small Things

Seed Magazine ^ | 8/8/06 | Samir S. Patel

[LibWhacker]

When the last surviving California condors were taken into captivity by the US Fish and Wildlife Service in the mid-1980s, they were transported to the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park and Los Angeles Zoo where, among other things, they were treated for parasites. Living within the feathers of the birds were Colpocephalum californici—an avian chewing louse that looks pretty much like all other lice: a bulbous head, stubby thorax, six hooked legs and a stout, hairy, segmented abdomen. But these lice lived only on California condors and were also facing extinction. More overlooked than willfully extinguished, the last C. californici vanished from the Earth in a puff of carbaryl-powder fumigation.

[LibWhacker]

LOL

[sionnsar]

But these lice lived only on California condors

Well, get the DNA and re-create them! I might suggest a small tweak so they can live on liberals too, so the liberals can then contribute personally to the continuation of a species.

[Disambiguator]

Liberals have too much to worry about. What a depressing existence!

[SamAdams76]

I wish the deer fly was extinct.

[kinoxi]

I need $15,000,000 to set up an emergency fund to save this avian chewing louse...

[LibWhacker]

You ever seen this before? I don't think it's a joke, but like this article, it made me laugh.

DEER FLY PATCHES
Prod. ID: DFP12
STOPS BITING DEER FLY

STOPS Biting Deer Flies - Field tested and recommended by
Michigan Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, North
American Hunting Club and many others users. They
really work!! Great for outdoor activities, hunting,
hiking, fishing, cycling, gardening, horse riding,
birdwatching, etc. Easy to Use - Special adhesive strip
mounts on the back of cap or hat. Catch the Deer Fly
that circles your head & bites. NOW is the SEASON! We
also have, Deer Fly Patches for horses!

[SamAdams76]

It's not a joke. I've been filling one of those up every morning for the past six weeks. It's an atrocious year for the deer fly.

[LibWhacker]

Wow, then I guess I should thank my lucky stars that I live in California's Central Valley (which will be the first time I've ever done that!).

[goldfinch]

The reason I am in favor of preserving species, even those as lowly as lice, is because there is so much we do not yet know or understand about God's great creation. There was a reason God created all life, and when a species becomes extinct, we loose our chance to learn about it.

Are all species important? I don't know. Neither does anyone else. So it makes sense to me to keep them alive until we figure it out for sure.

[AbeKrieger]

There are subspecies alive today in the United States that are parasitic and feed off the taxpaying, law-abiding American. Do we have some powder that will make them disappear as well?

[zebra 2]

Back in the 30's - 50's, there was an infestation in the SE US of the dreaded, detestable, "screw worm" fly, whose larvae fed on living flesh of animals such as pigs, deer, cows, etc.; i.e., any warm-bloodied animal that happened to have a flesh wound to get the party started. W/O vigorous treatment on the individual animal, it usually died within a week or two. I knew a woman who told me that, in the 30's, her younger brother died after screw worms got in his ear.

In the 50's, the USDA undertook a successful program to eliminate the pest. Within a year or two screw worms were history. My, how times change!

[humblegunner]

There was a reason God created all life, and when a species becomes extinct, we loose our chance to learn about it.

Maybe God created some species to help us learn about pesticides.

[Chewbacca]

"Maybe God created some species to help us learn about pesticides."


Ahhhhh.....the power of DDT.