Photo courtesy of Insects Unlocked from USA, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) recently established and expanded Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine areas in Texas.
PEÑITAS QUARANTINE
On Dec. 12, the agencies established a Mexfly quarantine in Peñitas, Hidalgo County, designated as the Peñitas quarantine. This quarantine was established in response to the confirmed detection on Dec. 4 of one Mexfly larva in sour orange collected on a residential property in Peñitas. The quarantine encompasses approximately 53.2 square miles with 223.3 acres of commercial citrus.
LA FERIA QUARANTINE
On Dec. 16, APHIS and TDA expanded the La Feria Mexfly quarantine in Cameron County. They expanded the quarantine following the confirmed detection on Dec. 12 of one Mexfly larva in a grapefruit collected in a commercial grove in La Feria. This action expanded the quarantine by 46.71 square miles and includes 139.35 acres of additional commercial citrus. The amended quarantine encompasses approximately 124.2 square miles with 970.6 acres of commercial citrus.
MANAGEMENT MEASURES
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 these transient Mexfly populations following program guidelines for survey, treatment and regulatory actions.
MORE INFORMATION
The APHIS Exotic Fruit Flies website contains descriptions and maps of all current federal fruit fly quarantine areas. The website reports that 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.
Source: APHIS
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