APHIS Establishes and Expands Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine Areas in Texas

FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION

DA-2025-16
April 23, 2025

Subject:  APHIS Establishes and Expands Mexican Fruit Fly (Anastrepha ludens) Quarantine Areas in Texas

To:  State, Territory, and Tribal Agricultural Regulatory Officials

On April 1, 2025, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) and the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA) expanded the Mexican fruit fly (Anastrepha ludens; Mexfly) quarantine in Sullivan City, Hidalgo and Starr Counties, Texas. On April 4, APHIS and TDA established a Mexfly quarantine in Roma, Starr County, expanded and consolidated the Edinburg and Palmview Mexfly quarantines in Hidalgo County, expanded the Harlingen-Sebastian Mexfly quarantine in Cameron, Hidalgo, and Willacy Counties, and expanded the Donna Mexfly quarantine in Hidalgo County.

APHIS and TDA expanded the Sullivan City quarantine by 24 square miles to 79 square miles following the confirmed detection on March 12 of Mexfly larvae in sour orange fruits on a residential property. APHIS and TDA established the Sullivan City quarantine on January 28 following detections of a wild mated female Mexfly and Mexfly larvae. The quarantine area contains no commercial agriculture.

APHIS and TDA established the Roma quarantine following the confirmed detection on March 25 of Mexfly larvae in sweet orange fruits on a residential property. The quarantine area is 43 square miles and contains no commercial agriculture.

APHIS and TDA expanded the Edinburg and Palmview quarantines by 115 square miles, resulting in a consolidated quarantine of 255 square miles, henceforth named the Edinburg-Palmview quarantine, following the confirmed detections between March 18 and April 2 of Mexfly larvae in sour orange fruits on residential properties in Edinburg and McAllen and in grapefruits in a commercial grove in Mission. The consolidated quarantine area contains 8,705 acres of commercial citrus.

APHIS and TDA established the Edinburg quarantine on August 30, 2024, following the detection of Mexfly larvae, expanded the quarantine on October 17 following the detections of additional wild Mexflies, and reduced the quarantine on January 8, 2025, after three generations elapsed since the date of the last detection in one portion. APHIS and TDA established the Palmview quarantine on February 10, 2025, following the detections of Mexfly larvae and a wild mated female Mexfly.

APHIS and TDA expanded the Harlingen-Sebastian quarantine by 39 square miles to 442 square miles following the confirmed detection on March 20 of a wild mated female Mexfly in a trap on a sweet orange tree on a residential property in Lyford. The quarantine area contains 1,474 acres of commercial citrus.

APHIS and TDA established the Sebastian quarantine on March 21, 2024, following the detection of a wild mated female Mexfly, and the Harlingen quarantine on March 26, 2024, following the detections of six wild mated female Mexflies. APHIS and TDA amended these individual quarantines on April 3, May 20, June 27, August 2, and August 29, consolidated these two quarantines on September 27, and then further amended the consolidated quarantine on October 11, November 1, and December 6, 2024, and January 17, February 7, and February 26, 2025; these were either expansions following the detections of additional wild Mexflies or removals after three generations elapsed since the dates of the last detections in some portions.

APHIS and TDA expanded the Donna quarantine by 14 square miles to 182 square miles following the confirmed detection on March 13 of Mexfly larvae in sour orange fruits on a residential property in Edinburg. APHIS and TDA established the Donna quarantine on August 15, 2024, following the detection Mexfly larvae, and expanded the quarantine on September 28 and November 18, 2024, and January 17, 2025, following the detections of additional Mexflies. The quarantine area contains 1,860 acres of commercial citrus.

APHIS is applying safeguarding measures and restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles to prevent the spread of Mexfly to non-infested areas of the United States, as well as to prevent the entry of these fruit flies into foreign trade. APHIS is working with TDA to eradicate transient Mexfly populations following program guidelines for survey, treatment, and regulatory actions.

The APHIS exotic fruit flies web page contains descriptions and maps of the quarantine areas, as well as all current Federal fruit fly quarantine areas. APHIS will publish a notice of these changes in the Federal Register.

For additional information on the Mexfly quarantine areas, please contact:

Catherine Marzolf
National Policy Manager
386-666-9932
catherine.a.marzolf@usda.gov

Avraham Eitam
Assistant National Policy Manager
614-205-4565
avraham.eitam@usda.gov

/s/

Dr. Mark L Davidson

Deputy Administrator

Plant Protection and Quarantine