On August 28, 2015, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry (FDACS-DPI) announced the detection of several Oriental fruit flies, Bactrocera dorsalis, in south Miami-Dade county. The detection occurred during routine FDACS-DPI and USDA-APHIS-PPQ statewide fruit fly monitoring.
To read more information about the Oriental fruit fly, including some summary information regarding past pest detection and eradication efforts,go to the Oriental fruit fly information page.
The Oriental fruit fly is currently under eradication and not considered established within the state of Florida. All regulatory and eradication questions should be directed to either the state of Florida or our local USDA-APHIS-PPQ State Plant Health Director (SPHD) Office. Anyone concerned with a suspect detection of Oriental fruit fly within the state of Florida should call the helpline number below. Please note that the identification of suspect specimens must be confirmed by an approved USDA-APHIS-PPQ and/or FDACS-DPI regulatory specialist. UF-IFAS County Extension Offices should immediately call the DPI helpline with questions or concerns related to Oriental fruit fly.
Please note that FDACS-DPI has provided the following information to the general public for their convenience and information-
Division of Plant Industry Helpline
Contact us Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. EST
1-888-397-1517
(352) 395-4600 (Outside North America)
DPIHelpline@FreshFromFlorida.com
On a good news front, the state of Florida (FDACS-DPI) and USDA-APHIS-PPQ have an extensive and successful track record for eradicating fruit flies in Florida! However, you can help. Remember that you should just report your concerns if you suspect that you have detected Oriental fruit fly. Species-level identification of fruit flies is difficult and requires expert confirmation. Fortunately, we also have an existing fruit fly trapping program in Florida that will really help regulators determine the spread of this pest and prevent its establishment!
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