Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War

400 Pages·2008·3.86 MB·English

by  Jeffrey A Lockwood

S i x -
L e g g e d
Soldiers
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S i x -
L e g g e d
Soldiers
(cid:1)
Using Insects as
Weapons of War
Jeffrey A. Lockwood
1
2009
3
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lockwood, Jeffrey Alan, 1960–
Six-legged soldiers : using insects as weapons
of war / Jeffrey A. Lockwood.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN978-0-19-533305-3
1. Biological warfare. 2. Insects as carriers of disease.
3. Agroterrorism—Prevention. I. Title.
UG447.8.L632009
358'.3882—dc22 2008006935
1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
To
John (Jack) E. Lloyd
Genuine Friend, Patient Mentor, and Exemplary Scientist
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Contents
Preface ix
Acknowledgments xv
List of Illustrations xix
Introduction 1
ONE
Stinging Defeats
and Venomous Victories
1 Bee Bombs and Wasp Warheads 9
2 Toxic Tactics and Terrors 26
3 Insects as Tools of Torture 36
TWO
Vectors of Death
4 Horseshoes and Hand Grenades 47
5 The Victories of the Vectors 56
6 A Most Uncivil War 65
7 All’s Lousy on the Eastern Front 77
THREE
Bringing Fever and Famine
to a World at War
8 A Monstrous Metamorphosis 87
9 Entomological Evil 95
10 Japan’s Fleas and Flies 108
viii Contents
11 Japan’s Pleas and Lies 117
12 Beetle Bombs 128
13 Waking the Slumbering Giants 139
FOUR
Cold-Blooded Fighters
of the Cold War
14 Korea’s Hailstorms of Hexapods 159
15 A Swarm of Accusations 171
16 An Imaginary Menagerie? 182
17 The Big Itch 193
18 Yankee (and Vietnamese) Ingenuity 203
19 Cuban Missiles vs. American Arthropods 210
20 A Tiny Terrorist in Castro’s Crops 221
FIVE
The Future of Entomological Warfare
21 Medfl ies, Fruits, and Nuts 233
22 Fear on the Farm 242
23 Wimpy Warmups and Real Deals 256
24 Six-Legged Guardian Angels 274
25 Insect Cyborgs and Robofl ies 287
26 “Vigilant and Ready”? 298
Epilogue 311
Suggested Readings 315
Notes 323
Index 361
preface
Although the historic and prospective use of insects as weapons is not the sort
of topic that tends to lull one into a sense of well-being, I would like to put the
reader’s mind at ease with regard to a few important considerations.
This book is, in large part, about history and science. And I am of the
studied opinion that neither venture is particularly objective. As such, I can-
not claim neutrality without abject hypocrisy. So in the spirit of honest dis-
closure, the reader should know the following. Despite claims to the contrary
by early readers and reviewers, I am neither antireligious nor un-American. In
fact, I attend church (Unitarian Universalist) almost every Sunday, and I vote
in every election (being a registered Independent with Democratic leanings,
although I increasingly struggle to discern the difference between the parties).
I am, however, a skeptic with a sense of humor, a quality that might seem irrev-
erent when I doubt the veracity of a particular reader’s favored institution.
It is my sense that human organizations—including universities, religious
associations, corporate enterprises, government laboratories, federal agen-
cies, and international bodies—have as their primary goal the acquisition and
maintenance of power, not the search for and reporting of the truth. That
said, I am not equally dubious of all sources. For example, I would believe an
account provided by the U.S. government over one provided by the North
Korean government, all other things being equal. But, of course, things are
not often equal, and during times of hot and Cold Wars the honesty of both
sides must be questioned. Historical and political accounts most often provide
a complex set of partial truths from which one must attempt to assemble a best
guess of what actually transpired.
In this light, my interpretation of historical events in which insects have been
used as weapons—with or without the knowledge of the combatants—may not
accord with the cultural, religious, or political sensitivities of all readers. It is not
ix