Fruit fly population snapshot 

• Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) numbers remained higher than normal during May across the region. This population increase can be attributed to the La Niña weather system and the presence of more unharvested and fallen fruit than usual. 
• Higher than normal May numbers were due to high numbers in rural locations and, to a lesser extent, peri-urban sites. This was likely due to large volumes of unharvested and fallen fruit. 
• May Qfly numbers in urban sites were slightly higher than previous years but well down compared with rural and peri-urban sites.
• Individual trap captures, rather than widespread activity, skewed data with 45% of Qfly trapped in May found in 7 of the 395 traps on the grid.
• The combined sterile insect technique (SIT) and Area Wide Management projects in Cobram urban areas continue to reduce numbers, despite the current status of a ‘bad’ fruit fly season.
• Area Wide Management + SIT appear to also benefit nearby rural locations.
• Weather outlooks favour the survival of overwintering Qfly in the Goulburn Murray Valley (GMV) region.
• The GMV fruit fly trapping grid is an essential tool for identifying hot spots, timing of Qfly management activities and evaluating the efficacy of Area Wide Management programs.

View the full report in the attachment below.