No new flies found since single insect detected in Auckland suburb at start of January
A comprehensive biosecurity operation has been implemented by the New Zealand government following the detection of a single male Oriental fruit fly in suburban Auckland.
The fly was found in a surveillance trap in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe on 3 January and Biosecurity New Zealand subsequently mounted an operation to determine whether there were more fruit flies and eliminate any population to protect the horticulture industry and home gardens.
Mike Inglis, Biosecurity New Zealand commissioner north, said initial checks of the other 187 traps in the Papatoetoe/Mangere area did not find any fruit flies in them. Biosecurity New Zealand also increased trapping and testing, with daily checks in a 200m zone from the original find and three daily testing in a second zone out to 1,500m.
“We have placed more than 100 extra traps in the area, and checking of all of them has not found any signs of other fruit flies so far,” Inglis said.
“Specialist staff in our mobile laboratory, which is set up at our response base in Auckland, have been hard at work examining fruit and vegetables collected from within Zones A and B. They’ve processed more than 100kg of fruit so far and we’ve found no larvae or eggs, which helps to provide assurance that we are not dealing with a breeding population.
“The capture of a single male does not mean we have an outbreak. However, while we do our checks for any other fruit flies, we need community help to prevent any possible spread.”
Inglis said there had been 12 incursions of different fruit fly in Auckland and Northland since 1996 and all have been successfully eradicated thanks to the work of Biosecurity New Zealand, its horticulture partners, and local communities. He thanked the community for its effort on this occasion.
“We’ve surveyed more than 500 local properties and the fruit grown on them, and we’ll continue to talk to residents, local businesses, and groups, including attending local markets over the weekend to provide information to people. The response from the community is greatly appreciated,” he said.
“We have more than 150 people working on the response and a good system in place for how to do things thanks to the 12 previous times we have found and successfully eradicated different fruit flies in New Zealand.”
