navel

A thick line marks a healed cut from just under the man’s neck all the way down to his navel.

“Navel orangeworm could be a nightmare … but it could also become less of a problem because all the things that eat it benefit more from the heat than the navel orangeworm,” said Haviland.

Every year, the navel orangeworm eats through roughly 2% of California’s almonds before they can make it to grocery store shelves.

Scientists say climate change could make the navel orangeworm problem even worse, with hotter temperatures allowing the moths to reproduce even faster.

The metabolism of navel orangeworms — like many agricultural pests — is tied to temperature.