Osaka Team Opens Way to Stamp Out Pest Moth with Laser Beam

Osaka, Jan. 19 (Jiji Press)--An Osaka University team has discovered vital spots of a pest moth vulnerable to a laser beam, opening the way for stamping it out without using an agricultural chemical.

The team of the national university's Institute of Laser Engineering made the discovery with the Spodoptera litura, found in many parts of the world, according to a study announced at an academic conference Thursday.

There is a technology developed in the United States to shoot down mosquitoes with a laser beam, which generates heat. But it is difficult to dispatch larger insects such as moths with the technology.

The Spodoptera litura is designated as an injurious pest by the agriculture ministry. Its caterpillar, known as the tobacco cutworm, attacks crops such as cabbages.

The team found that the chest and face of the moth are vital spots. It succeeded in tracking flying moths of the species and shooting them down by firing laser beams at them.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]