On Dec. 5, U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) officials established a new Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine. Located in La Feria, Cameron County, Texas, it has been designated the La Feria quarantine.
FOUND IN GRAPEFRUIT GROVE
APHIS and TDA established the new quarantine in response to the Dec. 3 confirmed detection of one Mexfly larva in a grapefruit collected from a commercial grove in La Feria. The quarantine encompasses approximately 80 square miles with 831.3 acres of commercial citrus.
WHAT’S BEING DONE
APHIS is applying safeguarding measures and restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles to prevent the spread of Mexfly to non-infested areas of the United States, as well as to prevent the entry of these fruit flies into foreign trade. APHIS is working with TDA to eradicate the transient Mexfly population following program guidelines for survey, treatment and regulatory actions.
The APHIS Exotic Fruit Flies website contains descriptions and maps of all current federal fruit fly quarantine areas.
MORE ABOUT MEXFLIES
According to APHIS, the Mexfly is a serious agricultural pest. It can infest more than 50 types of fruits and vegetables, particularly citrus and mango. The damage makes crops inedible and unmarketable.
Mexfly was first found in central Mexico in 1863 and along the California-Mexico border by the early 1950s. Today, Mexfly continues to pose a serious threat for the Texas citrus industry and a wide range of other valuable U.S. crops.
The adult Mexfly is larger than a house fly. Its body is a pale orange-yellow with two to three whitish stripes along the thorax. The wings are clear with several yellow and brown stripes.
Additional Mexfly information is available from APHIS National Policy Manager Catherine Marzolf at catherine.a.marzolf@usda.gov or 386-666-9932.
Source: APHIS
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