‘Potentially destructive’ fruit fly larvae seized at Detroit airport, officials say
Nestled within a traveler’s fresh caper flowers from Italy were long, yellow larvae that caught the eye of agricultural specialists at the Detroit airport, officials said.
When the traveler refused to answer questions at the airport in June, officials seized the flowers for further examination, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol said in a Nov. 21 news release.
Agriculture officials identified the larvae as a caper fruit fly, according to the release. This species of fruit fly is “rare and potentially destructive” to American agriculture, customs officials said.
These fruit flies are part of an insect family that includes Mediterranean fruit fly, Oriental fruit fly, melon fly, and Mexican fruit fly. These species are considered some of the “most damaging agriculture pests in the world,” officials said.
A caper fruit fly was last intercepted by U.S. authorities 20 years ago in Tampa, Florida, customs officials said. That was the only known interception of the species at the time, according to the release.
“Little information exists about alternate hosts of the caper fruit fly, or the potential for it to find a suitable host within the United States,” officials said in the release. “It is not uncommon for pest species to have a more detrimental impact outside of their native range where natural controls do not exist.”
This story was originally published November 22, 2024 at 9:48 AM with the headline "‘Potentially destructive’ fruit fly larvae seized at Detroit airport, officials say."
