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 Lasara, Willacy County, Texas

Country: United States

Title: Anastrepha ludens (Mexican Fruit Fly): APHIS Removes the Quarantine Area in Lasara, Willacy County, Texas

Contact:
Richard Johnson, Fruit Fly National Policy Manager, at 301-851-2109.

Report:

Effective June 9, 2021, 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 Lasara, Willacy County, Texas.

On November 5, 2020, APHIS and TDA established a Mexfly quarantine in Lasara, Willacy 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 mandarin tree in a residential area on November 5, 2020. Since that time, APHIS 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 is present: not widely distributed and under official control in the United States

Posted Date: July 26, 2021, 10:38 a.m.