Ecologic Entomology

When I was six years old, I accidentally drank insecticide that was stored in a Coca-cola bottle. Perhaps then I shouldve realized the role these chemicals would play in my life. When I was fifteen years old, I found myself before the Taunton City Council pleading a case for a safer alternative to the pesticide they were spraying to kill gypsy moth caterpillars. As a beekeeper, I knew their pesticide didnt discriminateit killed the caterpillars as well as everything else, including honeybees. Even as a kid, I knew that killing one destructive pest at the expense of all the beneficial ones wasnt eco-logical. Ultimately the city council agreed, and chose a safer, natural biocide that affected only the caterpillars.