#poxviruses

Poxviruses are some of the most well studied viruses out there, but there's still a lot to learn about these little bricks. Entomopoxviruses infect insects, and are not yet well understood, with only a few genomes fully sequenced. The host range is also not quite clear, with the most well characterised viruses infecting Lepidoptera species, but there are also reports out there about cockroaches and bumblebees having their own poxviruses.

The main reason for studying these viruses right now is for use in biocontrol of agricultural pests. Using viruses to control populations of insects can help decrease the need for heavy usage of chemical pesticides that have a broader effect on local wildlife.

Choristoneura biennis (two-year budworm) is a species of moth which defoliates spruce and fir trees in the Canadian rocky mountains. These moth larvae cause damage by eating away at the buds of the tree, and stands of trees take a long time to recover. Epidemics of defoliation occur about every 30 years and last around ten years, usually resulting in double the loss of trees as in non-epidemic years. Attempts to minimize the occurence of these outbreaks by using baculovirus have been made, and supplementing the use of baculovirus with entomopoxvirus which doesn't work as quickly could be a way to minimize the impact of this budworm without decimating the local insect population.