Ceratitis capitata trapped in Florida (US)
One male Ceratitis capitata (EPPO A2 quarantine pest) was caught in a Jackson trimedlure trap in Tampa, county of Hillsborough, Florida (US), on 1997-05-28. The next day, another male fly was trapped in Brandon, 11 km east of the previous detection site. Six more adult flies were trapped in the same area. By 1997-06-02, a total of 47 flies had been caught in the county of Hillsborough (Tampa, Brandon and Mango areas). More recently, C. capitata has been detected in Lakeland, one of the major citrus-growing areas. Until now, 730 flies have been detected in 5 Florida counties: 661 in Hillsborough, 10 in Manatee, 4 in Orange, 53 in Polk and 2 in Sarasota. It is stressed that this is the first and only outbreak of C. capitata in Florida since 1990. Eradication measures have immediately been applied, including restrictions on the movement of host plants, chemical and biological (sterile insect technique) treatments.
Sources
Pollard, G.V. (1997) Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly) in Florida, USA.
CPPC Circular Letter, no. 1/97, 1st June 1997. FAO Sub Regional Office for the Caribbean, Barbados.
Web site of APHIS on INTERNET - Florida medfly update, 1997-08-11
http://www.aphis.usda.gov