Official Pest Report
Official Pest Reports are provided by National Plant Protection Organizations within the NAPPO region. These Pest Reports are intended to comply with the International Plant Protection Convention's Standard on Pest Reporting, endorsed by the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures in March 2002.
Anastrepha ludens (Mexican Fruit Fly): APHIS Removes the Quarantine Area in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas
Anastrepha ludens (Mexican Fruit Fly): APHIS Removes the Quarantine Area in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas
Country: United States
Title:
Anastrepha ludens (Mexican Fruit Fly): APHIS Removes the Quarantine Area in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas
Contact:
Richard Johnson, Fruit Fly National Policy Manager, at (301) 851-2109 or richard.n.johnson@usda.gov
Report:
Effective August 10, 2022, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) removed the Mexican fruit fly (Mexfly) quarantine area in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas. This area was a portion of the Harlingen-Lyford-Weslaco quarantine.
On April 8, 2022, APHIS and TDA established a Mexfly quarantine in Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas, and restricted interstate movement of regulated articles from this area to prevent the spread of Mexfly to non-infested areas of the United States. This action was necessary after APHIS confirmed one mated female Mexfly from a trap in a sweet orange tree in a residential area. On May 27, APHIS and TDA merged the Weslaco quarantine with the Harlingen-Lyford quarantine following the confirmed detection of a mated female Mexfly from a trap in a citrus tree in a residential area.
Since that time, APHIS has worked cooperatively with TDA to eradicate the transient Mexfly population through various control actions per program protocols. APHIS removed the quarantine area after three Mexfly life cycles elapsed, with no additional detections in this area.
The following website contains a description of all the current Federal fruit fly quarantine areas:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/plant-health/ff-quarantine.
Under IPPC standards, Anastrepha ludens is a pest that has been eradicated from Weslaco, Hidalgo County, Texas. Following separate incursions, this pest is present only in two areas [Brownsville and Harlingen Quarantines] in Texas and one area in California. This species is not widely distributed and is under official control in the United States.
Posted Date: Sept. 28, 2022, 9:08 a.m.