Posts Tagged: Medfly

Medfly and Moth Wars

James R. Carey is used to dissent. The entomology professor at the University of California, Davis, fervently believes that the Mediterranean fruit fly and light brown apple moth, two exotic and invasive pests, have long been established in California and cannot be eradicated. Trying to eradicate...

James Carey

UC DAVIS ENTOMOLOGIST James Carey believes that the light brown apple moth has long been established in California and cannot be eradicated. He is featured in the Jan. 8 edition of Science Magazine in a NewsFocus piece headlined "From Medfly to Moth: Raising a Buzz of Dissent." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Light Brown Apple Moth

LIGHT BROWN APPLE MOTH (adult shown) is a native of Australia. Its larvae have voracious appetites and feed on more than 2000 plant species. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Agriculture)

One quarantine lifted, another imposed

CDFA announced in a news release yesterday that five Asian citrus psyllids were found in the Orange County community of Santa Ana, triggering the first ACP quarantine north of San Diego and Imperial counties.

The northward movement of the psyllid may raise fears of the state's citrus growers, but there is also some good news about the effectiveness of state-sponsored pest eradication programs. CDFA announced in another news release yesterday that a Mediterranean fruit fly infestation San Diego's Spring Valley has been eradicated.

To eradicate the pest, ag officials released nearly 3 million sterile male Medflies over an 11.2 square-mile zone at the core of the quarantine area. Fertile female flies mate with the sterile males but produce no offspring, eventually eradicating the pest. 

Medflies can infest over 260 types of fruits and vegetables, threatening California’s crops and exports as well as urban and suburban landscaping and gardens.

CDFA said the new ACP quarantine in Orange County will restrict movement of plant material at wholesale and retail nurseries within five miles of the find site. In addition, the agency is planning a treatment program and monitoring the area to detect additional psyllids.

USDA's ACP map shows where the pest has been found.

Medfly Wars

“The war is over—again,” wrote reporter Pat Brennan of the Orange County Register in a news article published Aug. 14. Brennan was referring to the war against the Mediterranean fruit fly, a tiny pest that targets some 260 crops. The pest, first detected inCaliforniain 1975,...

Mediterranean fruit fly (Photo by Jack Kelly Clark)

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