Why did a Kibbutz in Israel ship 380 million flies to Croatia?

The flies were grown at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu and then underwent sterilization using a radioactive process.

Flies on their way to Europe‏ (photo credit: PR)
Flies on their way to Europe‏
(photo credit: PR)
A batch of 380 million barren flies were sent from Israel to Croatia to help fight fruit fly populations in the Balkan country's citrus orchards.
The flies were grown at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu and then underwent sterilization using a radioactive process operating under the supervision of the Israeli Atomic Energy Commission.
After landing at the airport in the seaside city of Split, they were spread in orchards along the Bosnian border. The barren flies act to push out the harmful ones from the orchards.
The Biobee company at Kibbutz Sde Eliyahu devises natural biological methods to fight pests in agriculture inorder to decrease the reliance on harmful pesticides.