The single male Oriental fruit fly was discovered in a surveillance trap in a suburban backyard in Birkdale today.
“This is the same species of fruit fly that we responded to in Papatoetoe recently, but it is too early to say whether the two finds are linked. Our lab will do further DNA analysis of the fly over the coming days,” said Biosecurity New Zealand commissioner north Mike Inglis.
If the fruit fly established itself in New Zealand, the country’s horticulture industry would face massive economic costs, the government organisation said.
Inglis said Biosecurity New Zealand was moving quickly to look for any others and eradicate them.
“We will be ramping up trapping and inspection, with daily checks in a 200-metre zone from the original find and checks every three days in a second zone out to 1500m,” he said.
“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.
“As a precautionary measure, we’ll be putting legal restrictions in place on the movement of fruit and vegetables out of the area where the fruit fly was found.”
A map depicting impacted zones in the North Shore suburb of Birkdale. Photo / Biosecurity New Zealand
Inglis said instructions about these controls and the exact area affected would be issued on Friday following the completion of an initial investigation.
“In the meantime, we ask that people who live and work in the suburb not take any whole fresh fruit and vegetables out of your property.”
Biosecurity staff would be in the community providing people with information.
“You may notice increased activity in the neighbourhood as we go about inspections and trapping. Our field officers may ask to look at fruit trees on your property. They will always show you a form of official identification and will only enter your property with your permission,” Inglis said.
He said there have been 13 incursions of different fruit fly in Auckland and Northland since 1996, all of which have been successfully eradicated.
The Oriental fruit fly would be devastating for New Zealand's horticulture industry if it takes hold.
“Back in 2019, we responded to the detection of fruit flies in three separate suburbs over a period of several months, so this is not unusual. We traced and tracked in all three suburbs and continued until we were confident we had eliminated the pest.”
Inglis said the latest find demonstrates the benefit and effectiveness of the Ministry for Primary Industries’ lure-based fruit fly surveillance trapping network, as well as the biosecurity system.
“Our trapping network involves nearly 8000 traps set nationwide, and these are checked regularly. By setting traps for these pest insects, we are able to find them early, know exactly where the problem is, and respond quickly and effectively.”
The fruit fly poses no human health risk, but would be devastating for New Zealand’s horticulture industry if it were allowed to establish here.
It is the second Oriental fruit fly discovered in Auckland this year after one was found in a backyard in South Auckland’s Papatoetoe last month.
