California has been considering releasing millions of sterile Mediterranean fruit flies in Alameda County to eliminate others from a particular area. Why would they bring in more flies if they are trying to eliminate them?
Adding fruit flies to eliminate them is a way to reduce the breeding of other fruit flies, causing the fruit flies to reduce altogether. This was first found out in the summer of 2024, and our government is now taking action. ” So, in response to that, our protocol is to release sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies at a rate of 250,000 sterile flies per square mile per week,’ said Dr. Jason Leathers, with the CA Department of Food and Agriculture,” writes John Ramos in an article for CBS News. Foods like yeasts that grow on fermenting or decaying fruits, vegetables, and other organic matter are the most attractive to fruit flies.
Mediterranean fruit flies are one of the most damaging insects to agriculture. Since California is one of the state’s biggest agricultural producers, strict measures were taken. The Fremont and South Newark area is now under quarantine. This means that “residents living in the invasive fruit fly quarantine areas are urged not to move any fruits and vegetables from their properties,” alamedacountyca.gov. They are advised not to throw away food in the green bins but instead dispose of it in double plastic bags and place them in the garbage bin.
Los Angeles is also another area that used this type of elimination of fruit flies in November 2023. They used a Sterile Insect Technique to remove all the fruit flies flying around Los Angeles. This works as Sterile male fruit flies mate with female fruit flies and produce infertile eggs. Doing this, the population will soon die out. “Dr. Leathers said, noting that residents were also ‘unlikely to notice’ the influx of sterile flies,” Livia Albeck-Ripka writes in an article for the New York Times.
Fruit flies are all around the world just living on fruits and vegetables, but Alameda County made fruit flies fly away from them, and now many other cities in California and the United States are using their procedure. The sterilizing technique is working splendidly and helping homes stay clean and fruits stay fresh.
Sources:
https://www.acgov.org/cda/awm/med-fruit-fly.htm
https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/fruitfly/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/utah-bans-fluoride-public-water-rcna193917
https://rutgershealth.org/news/weighing-facts-against-myths-fluoride-debate
