The torture never stops! Another gift from Asia via California. Thanks! SWD started in CA in 2008, so eventually this fly will find it’s way here, as did SWD which hit my yard for the first time this year. I guess I have a few years at least before I rip my peach trees and tomatoes out.
With the damage swd creates, you’ll have them ripped out anyways before that times comes.
CA knocked out the same insect in 2006 and probably will again. The discovery this time was 10 miles from my former place and 20 miles from the main stone fruit growing area in CA.
Weren’t most of our stone fruits and citrus a gift from Asia in the first place? 
And according to one of the stories linked on the side of that page, Florida found Oriental Fruit Fly in Miami-Dade county last month. It sounds like they are very aggressively fighting it.
I’m hoping you said that jokingly.
As far as my own thinking goes, anything that threatens food supply is serious. Just because the genetics of the ancestors of those particular crops came from the same general region of the world doesn’t make new introductions of pests that feed on those (as well as a broader range of fruits and vegetables) acceptable.
I don’t know what other people’s thoughts are, but things like this concern me beyond worrying what might happen to my own crops, or even the economic implications. Although those are concerning, major impacts on food production ripple throughout the world and affect nearly everyone, particularly the most vulnerable.
Yes
I did hold my tongue out…
Well, there’s the problem - my eyesight. That emoji just looked like it had wide eyes and an open mouth to me. I couldn’t tell that there was supposed to be a tongue sticking out.
Well that fruit fly can just get in line. Many other pests have their bids in already on my veggies and fruits. Hopefully it can be stopped. Our great lakes are full of invaders too, about 100 foreign species are in the great lakes. Local species have adapted and now eat the invaders. It took about 5 years for them to realize the new species is edible. Such as gobies and zebra muscles are now eaten by local fish.
I saw the news they caught a peach fruit fly in CA.
I’ve always thought it’s just a matter of time before fruit pests become ubiquitous throughout various fruit growing regions of the world. Our society is so mobile, pests/diseases (whether human or those which affect fruit) travel at the speed of jets.
With regard to the peach fly, I wonder if they will survive in more temperate climates. This was a discussion when SWD was introduced. At first it was thought SWD could not withstand winters of temperate climates, but in the end it seems to survive winters just fine. For me, this is still a question with other pests from tropical climates (i.e. Medfly, peach fly, ect.).
I realize this isn’t much of a concern to folks who live in a CA Mediterranean climate because they have to deal w/ these tropical pests regardless, but it is a larger issue than just CA. Not all fruit in the U.S. is grown in CA (although most of it is).
One problem with these pests is that we tend to import the pest, without importing the predators as well. This is a bit unfortunate to me. The USDA is so careful about not importing anything without extensive testing, they won’t import known predators of these pests, even though new pests are being introduced at alarming rates. Growers are going broke while the USDA continues to evaluate known predators of these pests at a Rip Van Winkle sleeper pace.
We all know the exceptions of introducing a predator which is worse than the pest (i.e. mongoose in HI) but pests are being introduced so fast IMO we need to streamline the process of introducing the same predators of those pests where they came from. Otherwise it seems to me, we are at a competitive disadvantage with nations which have the natural predators of those pests.
I thought that too being from Southeast Asia, but then i read SWD is also from Southeast Asia.
I think we hold the answer in GMO technology but so many are against it, it has stopped basic research. Too bad. To be more specific we introduce detrimental genes to the pests. It’s time to play hardball. What about introducing enzymes to peaches that will not change flavor, or hurt us but will kill all fruit flies that eat it. We should be at least introducing sterile male flies.
agree with @bleedingdirt.
peaches, nectarines, pears, certain apples, oranges, kiwi, bananas, rice, ad libitum are fantastic gifts from asia. We continue to import stuff from there in great amounts(just ask walmart and target), so not fair to be derogatory with ‘incidental’ asian stowaways.
also, what major food plant did asia and the rest of the world import originally from usa? probably nada.
even corn and squash, which we lay claim to seem to be not ours. Being more likely to be of mexican and south american in origin.
Almost all vegetables are not from here, Most foods we grow are not from here. So I’m not sure what the point is here? We deserve the pests? What’s the point of bringing this up???
you actually answered your question. Nothing is from here, so if we continue to import stuff from all over the world, and in large amounts, quite surely we will get stowaways which have an affinity for the food plants they used to eat bac home. Is it asia’s fault that they have fruit flies which raid peaches? nope.
those fruit flies evolved with peaches in the peaches’ original habitat.
did asia force us to import their peaches and enjoy peaches? nope. And did any asian intend to send fruit flies along with the crate of electronics which we ordered via express delivery through ebay?
–possibly that phone or tablet we are now using as we correspond online? probably not.
so to say that the fruit fly is a ‘fantastic gift’ doesn’t chime right.
briefly stated, there seems to be no appreciation for the beneficial stuff we get from asia, but there is outright disgust and upheaval over the inadvertent co-introduction of the bad organisms–which so happens to feed on the stuff from there
OK, I have a better idea what you meant. Although the import of peaches and peach trees did not bring them here. It’s been over 300 years of having peaches here. They are from here now and are even being imported back. I never had a problem with Asians, but of a systems that cannot properly inspect imports, or Americans who insist on smuggling fruit in. Interesting what happens sometimes. In the Great Lakes the Zebra muscle is now all over. It came from the bilge of international ships. It is against the law for them to empty bilges, but if full a ship must or may sink! Anyway they caused lot’s of problems. Clogging drains and coating all objects in the water, docks and such. In the St Clair River the Sheephead love them though. They also filter the water, and the water is now crystal clear in the Great Lakes. I myself have been cut a few times by them when swimming as they have razor sharp shells.
I thought it was a perfect tongue in cheek statement myself.
I took it just as a statement evidencing ironic frustration and not as an accusation of anyone’s specific ill intent and I did not detect any intent to accuse or offend.
Seemed to convey the poster’s feelings and opinion in the fewest words possible… something I am not guilty of in this response. 
Mike
Actually if someone wants to be offended im fine with that. Everybody is offended these days. Im offended by the attitude that says its ok to endanger our farmers livelihood for the sake of cheap crap imports that carry bugs. We CAN grow all our food right here if there was a political will. We dont need to import food for the sake of ultra low price.The priority OUGHT to be protecting our own agriculture system.
Amadio, I couldn’t agree more:
http://www.cornucopia.org/2015/05/u-s-will-start-importing-fresh-apples-from-china/