They're here! For the past several decades, a stealthy foe has been secretly infiltrating California, spreading far and wide.
No, they're not Russian spies — they're fruit flies. Several species of fly, including the Mediterranean fruit fly, have been secretly spreading in the state for decades, new research finds.
The study, published today (Aug. 6) in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, also predicts that crop damage resulting from the insect invasion, as well as lost trade due to other countries' refusal to import California produce, could amount to $1.2 billion in lost revenue.
"Despite the several hundred eradication programs that California Food and Agriculture and the USDA [U.S. Department of Agriculture] have launched, these tropical fruit flies have become established in the state," said study co-author James Carey, an entomologist at the University of California, Davis.
Invasive pest
Unlike the harmless, gnatlike Drosophila flies that hover around rotting fruit, the conquering fruit flies invading California devour growing fruit and cause major economic damage. The Mediterranean fruit fly, or medfly, for instance, devastated California crops in 1989.
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