Controlling the Insect
Anything that is introduced into a new environment needs to have some way
of being controlled. The question is, "How do we control it?" If it
starts to take over, what do we do? These questions need to be answered before the,
in this case, insect is released into the wild.
What are some of the possible ways that we could control a butterfly?
We have thought of having the insect produce some chemical which, when it reacts
with another chemical, would kill the butterfly. If it got out of control, then the
reactant would just be spread, and the butterfly would be no more. There are many
other ways to do this, but we will leave that open for discussion.
Decimation of the Insect
Decimation means spreading. How would the insect be spread?
Spreading an insect is not as easy as spreading seed or the kudzu plant on which this
butterfly will live off. One possibility is to "farm" them. This
means to use an artificial habitat, exactly like the one it will be introduced to, to
breed it. Once enough insects are ready to be released, do so. There are,
again, many other ways to go about doing this.
Funding
Genetically engineering an insects cannot be cheap. Neither can
breeding enough to release into the wild. So, who will pay for this project?
Everyone that has money will probably be skeptical about spending it to fund this, and you
would have to be very lucky to have the government fund it. If you could work up a
good presentation, maybe you could get a grant. Otherwise, forget it.
Here's another question to ponder: "Will the cost to engineer
and breed the insect equalize the cost of the damage caused by kudzu?" The cost
of damage does not exceed the cost to make the insect, then it is not worth spending the
money to design. Think about that one.
