The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) brochure featured a large picture of a fruit fly and said it had been found in their neighbourhood.
Bins that normally contained fresh fruit and vegetables for sale outside the shop were empty.
Ankit Bansal, chair of the Dairy and Business Owners Group, told the Herald: “In principle, we support the restrictions, but we ask MPI to please only do what is absolutely necessary.”
The Queensland fruit fly lays its eggs in fruit. When the maggots hatch they eat the fruit, causing it to rot. In Queensland the fruit fly costs growers hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
MPI estimates that 80% of New Zealand horticulture crops could be attacked by the Queensland fruit fly. But the risk to the multibillion-dollar industry goes beyond the direct threat of crop destruction. The establishment of the Queensland fruit fly could result in New Zealand’s trading partners placing restrictions on the export of New Zealand produce.
The maggots are known to eat more than 200 different types of fruit and vegetables. Their favourites are guava, stone-fruit, tomatoes and mango.
Two of MPI’s five active biosecurity operations are centred on Auckland. Last year, a queen yellow-legged hornet was discovered in Glenfield.
So far a total of 41 queens have been found – all within a 1km detection buffer.
This is not the first time the Queensland fruit fly has been detected in Auckland. Its detection in Devonport and Northcote in early 2019 triggered a six-month, $18 million operation.
The 2015 response to Queensland fruit fly detections in the Grey Lynn area cost $15.7m.
Fruit fly surveillance
Biosecurity New Zealand uses more than 7800 traps to detect 100 species of fruit fly, including the Queensland fruit fly. Most traps are placed where flies are most likely to enter the country – near airports, seaports, and densely populated areas.
Trapping runs from September to June, when fruit flies are active. If a breeding population is found, insecticide treatments are used, but if only males or only females are found, insecticides are not needed.
Report any suspected sightings
By calling the MPI exotic pest and disease hotline on 0800 809 966;By emailing MPI at info@mpi.govt.nz;Online at report.mpi.govt.nz – if you use this method, ensure you select the “plants, spiders or insects” option from the dropdown list.
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