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 Expands Quarantine Area in Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas
Anastrepha ludens (Mexican Fruit Fly): APHIS Expands Quarantine Area in Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas
Country: United States
Title:
Anastrepha ludens (Mexican Fruit Fly): APHIS Expands Quarantine Area in Harlingen, Cameron County, Texas
Contact:
Contact: Richard Johnson, Fruit Fly National Policy Manager, at (301) 851-2109 or richard.n.johnson@usda.gov and Avraham Eitam, Assistant National Policy Manager, at (614) 205-4565 or avraham.eitam@usda.gov
Report:
On June 27, 2024, the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) expanded a Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens; Mexfly) quarantine in Harlingen, Cameron County in Texas.
The expansion of the quarantine is in response to the confirmed detection between May 26 and June 11 of three wild mated Mexflies from traps in orange and olive trees in residential areas in Harlingen. As a result of these detections, the Harlingen quarantine increased by five square miles to 342 square miles, and includes portions of Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy Counties. APHIS and TDA established the original quarantine on March 26, as described in DA-2024-11, and expanded it on May 20, as described in DA-2024-19. There are 1,334 acres of commercial citrus in the quarantine area.
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 transient Mexfly populations following program guidelines for survey, treatment, and regulatory actions.
The expansion of this quarantine area is reflected on the APHIS exotic fruit flies website, which contains a description of all current federal fruit fly quarantine areas. APHIS will publish a notice of these changes in the Federal Register.
Under IPPC standards, Anastrepha ludens is a transient pest under eradication that is present only in some areas in Texas. This species is not widely distributed and is under official control in the United States.
Posted Date: July 16, 2024, 2:30 p.m.