Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Beyond Pesky Flies

On June 2, county officials announced a quarantine on areas of Mira Mesa after finding four adult Mediterranean fruit flies and 14 larvae in the neighborhood.

“They were all found in residential yards,” says county agricultural commissioner Bob Atkins.

Sponsored
Sponsored

One of the adult medflies (a mated female) was discovered in a trap in a loquat tree at a residence on Flanders Drive in the Miramar area. The other three (one of which was a mated female) were found in a trap in a calamondin orange tree on a street named Embry Point. Fourteen medfly larvae were discovered on May 31 in the fruit of a calamondin orange tree at a residence on Bacadi Drive.

Mated female fruit flies are especially destructive, as they can lay eggs at any time during their lifespan. The genetic type of the flies, known as “AAAB,” was consistent with the previous medfly discoveries earlier this year in the El Cajon area.

“The AAAB type is consistent with populations that are distributed in Central America and most of the previously recorded detections in Southern California,” says Atkins, noting that the type has also been found in Africa and the Mediterranean region.

How did the flies end up in Mira Mesa?

“Because the eggs and young maggots are invisibly located within the fruit, the people who ship or carry fruit to friends and family don’t realize the damage they are doing,” says Atkins. “They think the government is trying to protect the big agri-business producers from competition, rather than protecting all growers -– from the backyard to the large orchard –- from new pests.”

Medflies are known to infest up to 260 species of fruits and vegetables. Mira Mesa is a neighborhood that is abundant in fruit trees. The discovery of the flies and larvae has prompted the County and the California Department of Food and Agriculture to conduct extensive trapping in the area. In addition, sterile medflies have been released into Mira Mesa to mate with the female flies. The trees and fruit from the affected and surrounding areas are also being treated.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

San Diego Reader 2024 Music & Arts Issue

Favorite fakers: Baby Bushka, Fleetwood Max, Electric Waste Band, Oceans, Geezer – plus upcoming tribute schedule

On June 2, county officials announced a quarantine on areas of Mira Mesa after finding four adult Mediterranean fruit flies and 14 larvae in the neighborhood.

“They were all found in residential yards,” says county agricultural commissioner Bob Atkins.

Sponsored
Sponsored

One of the adult medflies (a mated female) was discovered in a trap in a loquat tree at a residence on Flanders Drive in the Miramar area. The other three (one of which was a mated female) were found in a trap in a calamondin orange tree on a street named Embry Point. Fourteen medfly larvae were discovered on May 31 in the fruit of a calamondin orange tree at a residence on Bacadi Drive.

Mated female fruit flies are especially destructive, as they can lay eggs at any time during their lifespan. The genetic type of the flies, known as “AAAB,” was consistent with the previous medfly discoveries earlier this year in the El Cajon area.

“The AAAB type is consistent with populations that are distributed in Central America and most of the previously recorded detections in Southern California,” says Atkins, noting that the type has also been found in Africa and the Mediterranean region.

How did the flies end up in Mira Mesa?

“Because the eggs and young maggots are invisibly located within the fruit, the people who ship or carry fruit to friends and family don’t realize the damage they are doing,” says Atkins. “They think the government is trying to protect the big agri-business producers from competition, rather than protecting all growers -– from the backyard to the large orchard –- from new pests.”

Medflies are known to infest up to 260 species of fruits and vegetables. Mira Mesa is a neighborhood that is abundant in fruit trees. The discovery of the flies and larvae has prompted the County and the California Department of Food and Agriculture to conduct extensive trapping in the area. In addition, sterile medflies have been released into Mira Mesa to mate with the female flies. The trees and fruit from the affected and surrounding areas are also being treated.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Melissa Etheridge, The Imaginary Amazon

Events April 1-April 3, 2024
Next Article

March is typically windy, Sage scents in the foothills

Butterflies may cross the county
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.