The discovery of nearly 30 invasive fruit flies has prompted a produce quarantine affecting more than 79 square miles (204.6 square kilometers) of Los Angeles County as state and local officials try to prevent the fly from spreading. and damage California’s produce industry.
It is the first quarantine in the Western Hemisphere for the Tau fruit fly, which is native to Asia, agriculture officials said.
The fly was discovered June 6 in the unincorporated Stevenson Ranch area, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) north of downtown Los Angeles, and likely brought to California by a traveler bringing uninspected produce, authorities said. .
Authorities are asking residents to immediately kill any lanternflies they see. It is an invasive species and one of the main threats to American plants, including those used in agriculture and the lumber industry.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture announced the quarantine last week.
“We’re a great conduit in terms of shipping and trade,” said Ken Pellman, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Farm Commission. “We want to be vigilant and prevent things from coming here in the first place, and if they do come here, quickly eradicate them before they spread.”
Avocados, tomatoes, and watermelons are just a few of the 100 or so fruits that can harbor the fly, making it easy for them to establish themselves. If it spreads, the fly could destroy crops and cause farmers to spray more pesticides to maintain their yields.
For now, the infestation has been contained, but officials with the county and state agriculture departments are urging residents not to take their produce, whether grown on their property or purchased at a market, out of their homes.
Farmers’ market vendors have employed netting systems designed to trap flies and protect produce as it travels throughout the county.
“It’s also protecting growers at the farmer’s market, because they don’t want to transport the fly back to their farms,” Pellman said.
Scientists have just “baptized” new species of the dangerous insects.
Due to Los Angeles’ proximity to the state’s vital agricultural industry, the county already has a fruit fly trapping program that allowed departments to spot and get close to the Tau, a yellow and black fly with transparent wings.
Traps have now been placed throughout the area in an effort to eradicate the fly population before it spreads. Any produce or plant within 200 meters (656 feet) of another detected Tau fly will be inspected for larvae, county officials said.
“It’s an ounce of prevention versus a pound of cure,” Pellman said.
Brian Brown, curator of entomology at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, has researched flies throughout his career. If fruit flies get out of control, they could harm California’s exports of produce on the domestic and world markets, he said.
“Once these things get going in a large area, they are almost impossible to eradicate,” he said.
