On September 8, 2011, San Joaquin County Pest Detection staff captured two Oriental fruit flies in an insect trap located in North Stockton. Confirmation of the fruit flies was made by an entomologist from the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA). 

As a result insect traps that are specifically designed to detect Oriental fruit fly will be deployed in an 81 square mile area around the detection site by pest surveyors from the Agricultural Commissioner’s Office and CDFA. 

“Oriental fruit fly is a serious threat to our local agricultural crops and urban gardens,” said Agricultural Commissioner Scott Hudson. “We must move quickly and take action before the pest can cause widespread damage.” 

Oriental fruit fly is not established anywhere on the mainland of the United States. The fruit fly is widespread throughout much of the mainland of Southern Asia and neighboring islands including Sri Lanka and Taiwan. It is also found in Hawaii. 

The Oriental fruit fly is known to target over 230 different fruit, vegetable and plant commodities. Damage occurs when the female lays eggs inside the fruit. The eggs hatch into maggots that tunnel through the flesh of the fruit, making it unfit for consumption. 

If the Oriental fruit fly became established in California, backyard trees and commercial crops would soon become infested resulting in a federal quarantine on most California produce, higher prices for fruit, maggoty fruit for the gardener and shopper, and increased use of pesticides. 

While fruit flies and other pests threaten California’s crops, the vast majority of them are detected in urban and suburban areas. The most common pathway for these pests to enter the state is by “hitchhiking” in fruits and vegetables brought back illegally by travelers as they return from infested regions around the world.

More information on Oriental fruit fly can be found on CDFA’s website;