APHIS expands Mexican Fruit Fly quarantine in California

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) have expanded the La Mesa Mexican fruit fly or Mexfly (Anastrepha ludens) quarantine in San Diego County by two square miles.

In a press release, the agencies explained they initially expanded the quarantine area by one square mile in mid-March after confirming the presence of a mated female and male Mexflies in an orange tree, as well as a wild male Mexfly in an avocado tree. On April 2, the quarantine was further expanded following the detection of a wild, unmated female in an orange tree.

The revised La Mesa Mexfly quarantine currently covers 84 square miles. All detections occurred on residential properties, and the quarantine area does not include any commercial agricultural lots.

California’s eyes on MexFly and on the lookout for Huanglongbing

March and April have seen a lot of quarantine activity in California. On April 10, APHIS announced a new citrus greening or Huanglongbing (HLB) quarantine expansion in the Ramona area of San Diego County, covering 93 square miles. 

The agency also announced an expansion of the quarantine in the Loma Linda area of San Bernardino and Riverside Counties by 26 square miles.

APHIS acted quickly after finding citrus greening in plant tissue samples from residential properties, read the document. 

Now, a little over 25 acres of commercial citrus are affected by the new Ramona quarantine, and 411.5 acres are impacted by the Loma Linda area expansion.

*All photos courtesy of the USDA.

Related stories: 

APHIS expands HLB quarantine footprint in Southern California