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Published online 29 March 2004 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news040322-17

News

Virus takes out killer caterpillar

Alternative to pesticide may join battle against invasive species.

Scientists have harvested a virus in order to wipe out a caterpillar that can be fatal to humans.

The caterpillar, which grows into the browntail moth, strikes fear into the heart of entomologists.

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