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.
Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly): APHIS Expands Quarantine in Alameda and Santa Clara Counties, California (OPR-45)
Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly): APHIS Expands Quarantine in Alameda and Santa Clara Counties, California (OPR-45)
Country: United States
Title:
Ceratitis capitata (Mediterranean Fruit Fly): APHIS Expands Quarantine in Alameda and Santa Clara Counties, California (OPR-45)
Contact:
Catherine Marzolf, National Policy Manager, 386-666-9932 or catherine.a.marzolf@usda.gov
Report:
On October 21 and 22, 2025, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) expanded the Santa Clara Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata; Medfly) quarantine in Alameda and Santa Clara Counties, California.
On October 21, APHIS and CDFA expanded the Santa Clara Medfly quarantine in response to the confirmed detection on October 13 of one wild unmated female Medfly from a trap in a lemon tree on a residential property in the City of San Jose, Santa Clara County. This action expanded the quarantine by one square mile and does not include additional commercial agriculture. On October 22, APHIS and CDFA further expanded the Santa Clara Medfly quarantine in response to the confirmed detection on October 15 of one wild mated female Medfly from a trap in an apricot tree on a residential property in the City of San Jose. This action expanded the quarantine by one square mile and does not include additional commercial agriculture. These actions only expanded the portion of the quarantine in Santa Clara Couty. The amended quarantine encompasses 198 square miles with 47 acres of commercial agriculture, including grape, olive, orange, pepper, stone fruit, and tomato.
APHIS is applying safeguarding measures and restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles to prevent the spread of Medfly 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 CDFA and the Agricultural Commissioners of Alameda and Santa Clara Counties to respond to these detections following program guidelines for survey, treatment, and regulatory actions.
The APHIS Exotic Fruit Flies website contains descriptions and maps of all current Federal fruit fly quarantine areas. APHIS will publish a notice of this change in the Federal Register.
Under IPPC standards, Ceratitis capitata is a transient pest under eradication that is present only in one area in California. This species is not widely distributed and is under official control in the United States.
Posted Date: Nov. 25, 2025, 11:57 a.m.