Photo courtesy of Division of Plant Industry Archive, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services via Wikimedia Commons
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has removed the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine in Hildalgo County, Texas, designated the Peñitas-Granjeno quarantine. The action was taken in cooperation with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA). It releases 58.66 square miles from quarantine, including 45.03 acres of commercial citrus.
APHIS originally established the quarantine, restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from this area, to prevent Mexfly from spreading to other areas of the United States. APHIS and TDA have now successfully eradicated this transient Mexfly population using approved program control methods.
Maps and descriptions of all the current federal fruit fly quarantine areas can be found on the APHIS Exotic Fruit Flies webpage.
DAMAGE AND DISTRIBUTION
According to the webpage, Mexfly 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.
IDENTIFICATION
APHIS offers this description of Mexfly:
- Mexfly larvae (maggots) feed inside the fruit. They are legless, white to yellowish-white and grow to a length of 0.4 inches.
- Adult Mexflies are larger than a house fly. Their 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.
- Females have a long, slender, tube-like organ called an ovipositor. They use this to deposit eggs beneath the fruit’s skin.
More information is available from APHIS National Policy Manager Catherine Marzolf at 386-666-9932.
Source: APHIS
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