Aerial Dispersal of Sterile New World Screwworm – Multi Agency Response
[This media reel is intended for reediting]
00:07 -- Pick up air shippment of sterile flies from Panama arriving by plane at McAllen International Airport, Texas.
02:15 -- Arrival the USDA’s New World Screwworm Dispersal Facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas
03:36 -- Green dying of pupae.
04:35 -- Pupae loaded into emergence trays, stacked and moved to warm room for a few days.
07:39 -- Pupae in cold room are checked in aerial dispersal containers, checked and loaded for delivery to South Texas International Airport in Edinburg, Texas.
08:46 -- Dispersal containers are loaded into the modified dispersal aircraft
13:40 and 14:47 -- Fly releases
16:03 -- Post-Flight cleanup
16:29 -- Emersion trays are cleaned and fly food is prepared for next batches of sterile pupae and flies.
Today’s USDA aerial dispersal operations begin with the arrival of Mexico based aircraft with a delivery from Panama of chilled sterile New World Screwworm (NWS) pupae at McAllen International Airport in Mc Allen, Texas, on July 1, 2026. This is part of an international effort to respond to the pest advancing northward. Upon landing, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers board the aircraft for inspection, and USDA APHIS personnel complete required documentation with the crew. Ice chest coolers containing the sterile pupae are carefully moved from the aircraft to a refrigerated truck for transport to the USDA’s New World Screwworm Dispersal Facility at Moore Air Base in Edinburg, Texas.
The shipment is carted into one of the facility’s Cold Rooms, set to 51-degrees, where technicians open each cooler to verify contents, inspect quality, and record temperatures. Pupae are measured into buckets and immediately dyed fluorescent green to identify them as processed at this facility in Texas—a step carried out in a small cement mixer before the material is poured into an auger feeder. The auger dispenses uniform amounts of pupae into the frame channels of the emergence screen trays; a nutrient cube is added to each tray. Tray stacks are capped with ventilation covers and rolled into an Emergence Room, where a vacuum ventilation hose is attached on top. The system pulls air from the bottom upward and up through the tower, maintaining about 81 degrees and 72 percent humidity to promote even emergence.
From each batch, a screened grid tray is filled with 100 pupae. With this sampling they can track the emergence rate. Technicians monitor fly development to determine when the insects are ready for dispersal, enabling planners to schedule flight routes and timing. Once a batch reaches target emergence of 94.5%, trays are moved back to the cold room where the flies become dormant.
Overnight, personnel in the Cold Room conduct the “knock down” process, tapping trays over a square screen funnel to guide the chilled, inactive flies into dispersal boxes—about two million flies per box, with roughly 80 trays emptied for each container. [This process demonstrated but actual work not seen]
Before sunrise on July 2, morning crews check fly temperatures at 4:30 a.m. and load the boxes into a refrigerated truck bound for the South Texas International Airport, Edinburg, Texas. On this day, Texas National Guard members train alongside USDA and aircrews to learn aircrew dispersal duties. The dispersal effort is increasing and the men and women from the Guard are needed meet the new operations tempo. At the flight line, King Air 90 and other twin turboprop aircraft—modified with onboard cooling systems and external dispersal chutes—are loaded with sterile flies. Pilots and dispersal technicians conduct preflight checks, taking advantage of calm early morning weather. Once at the drop zone the aircraft will follow GPS guided north–south or east–west grids at about 6,500 feet, allowing broad, even distribution over the target zone near the Mexico border. As he pilots to the first drop zone, he will alert the Servidios Aeros’ Dispersing Technician Jorge Perez to prepare for dispersal. On the pilot‘s cue, Perez activates the aircraft’s dispersal systems. A motorized auger system begins to slowly turn to maintain a controlled release rate while the autopilot flies the preprogrammed pattern. Periodically, Perez inspects the operation of the system, the condition of the flies and peers through a narrow observation port to see how well they are being deployed through of the chutes. After completing each grid, crews land to refuel before returning to their next assigned route. Captain Burgess has more than a year of experience flying these missions south of the US/Mexico border before transferring to the Texas operations site.
Back at Moore Air Base, the cycle continues with the cleaning and drying of the screens and coolers, while others heat and mixing a solution of water and nutrients in commercial kettles. The mixture is then pumped into trays and air cooled before going into a cold room to firm up into a translucent gel. Their dispersal rate will increase from approximately 60 million to a total of 80 million flies next week. New towers of racks have just arrived and are seen outside the facility.
The sterile fly program, built on decades of multinational cooperation, uses continuous aerial release to halt the spread of New World Screwworm by overwhelming wild populations with sterile males. With multi agency coordination—from CBP inspections to USDA documentation, facility processing, Texas National Guard training, and specialized aviation support—the operation demonstrates an intensive, international effort to protect livestock, wildlife, and communities across the region.
More videos are at https://www.dvidshub.net/search/2.0?q=new+world+screwworm&type=video
Photos are at the USDA APHIS New World Screwworm Collection https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/collections/72157625204032244/
USDA Media by Lance Cheung. Attribution appreciated.
| Date Taken: | 07.02.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 07.22.2026 14:41 |
| Category: | B-Roll |
| Video ID: | 1015741 |
| VIRIN: | 260702-P-RD001-9003 |
| Filename: | DOD_111856035 |
| Length: | 00:19:06 |
| Location: | EDINBURG, TEXAS, US |
| Downloads: | 11 |
| High-Res. Downloads: | 11 |
This work, USDA Sterile Fly Aerial Dispersal Process of New World Screwworm, by Lance Cheung, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
