New World Screwworm Sterile Fly Production Facility by USDA APHIS: status and timeline

Milestones

Next · Facility opening and production begins

USDA-ACOE announce sterile fly facility projectMar 2026Complete.
Groundbreaking ceremony at Moore Air Base17 Apr 2026Complete.
Facility opening and production beginsTarget Q2 2027Not yet reached.
Phase 1 capacity reached: 100 million flies per weekTarget Nov 2027Not yet reached.
Phase 2 capacity reached: 300 million flies per weekTarget Dec 2028Not yet reached.

Most important updates

USDA and Army Corps of Engineers hold groundbreaking for Texas sterile fly facility17 Apr 2026
USDA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announce New World Screwworm sterile fly facility in TexasMar 2026

Upcoming

Q2 2027Facility opening and production begins (next)
Nov 2027Phase 1 capacity reached: 100 million flies per week
Dec 2028Phase 2 capacity reached: 300 million flies per week

Current obstacles

High wild population in the Darien GapDarien region has large wild screwworm populations; sterile release must exceed wild males to achieve suppression.
Construction and operational ramp-upBuilding a facility to manage a billion live insects per week requires solving novel engineering and biosecurity challenges.

Physics limits

Male-only technique limits suppression ratioOnly male sterile flies are effective; facility must produce twice the release number because about half pupae are female.
Weather and geography limit release effectivenessFlies must be released in suitable weather across vast border areas; unfavorable conditions reduce encounter rate.

How it works

4 parts

Breeding

Mass rearing in controlled conditions

Colonies bred with controlled temperature, humidity and diet to produce millions of pupae.

Sterilization

Gamma radiation sterilization

Pupae exposed to gamma radiation render males sterile while keeping them viable for emergence and mating.

Packaging

Adult sorting and containment

Sterilized pupae emerge in sealed containers. Males separated and packaged for transport to release sites.

Release

Aerial release over wild population areas

Sterile males released over regions with wild screwworm. They mate with wild females, producing no viable offspring.

Spec sheet

Spec	New World Screwworm Sterile Fly Production Facility
Total facility construction cost	$750 million^R (reported)
Phase 1 capacity (2027)	100 million flies per week^R (reported)
Phase 2 capacity (end 2028)	300 million flies per week^R (reported)
Facility location	Moore Air Base, Edinburg, Texas^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

2 updates

Fri 17 Apr

Major: USDA and Army Corps of Engineers hold groundbreaking for Texas sterile fly facilityPressManufacturing

Mar 2026

Major: USDA and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announce New World Screwworm sterile fly facility in TexasPressRegulatory

About USDA APHIS

The team behind New World Screwworm Sterile Fly Production Facility

USDA APHIS

Animal health, disease control, sterile insect

USDA APHIS protects animal and plant health. It leads the New World Screwworm control effort through sterile-insect technique, producing millions of sterile flies for weekly releases.

First US domestic sterile fly facility at Moore Air Base, Texas. Groundbreaking April 2026; opening spring 2027.
$750M facility will produce 100M sterile flies/week initially, scaling to 300M/week by end 2028.
Sterile-insect technique: male sterile flies mate with wild females, producing no viable offspring, suppressing wild population.

aphis.usda.gov (opens aphis.usda.gov)Company profile →

Headquarters: United States
Status: Government
Valuation: government
Works in: AgricultureLivestock technology
Coverage: 1 program · 2 updateslatest 17 Apr 2026checked 11 Oct
Partners: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (opens usace.army.mil)
Suppliers: Mortenson Construction (opens mortenson.com)

Spec

New World Screwworm Sterile Fly Production Facility

Total facility construction cost

$750 million^R (reported)

Phase 1 capacity (2027)

100 million flies per week^R (reported)

Phase 2 capacity (end 2028)

300 million flies per week^R (reported)

Facility location

Moore Air Base, Edinburg, Texas^R (reported)