Fruit fly situation – April 2019
During the first two weeks of April 2019, a total of 389 flies were trapped in the 375 traps deployed in the Goulburn Murray Valley (GMV) giving an average of 1.03 flies per trap per week (FTW). There were 253 flies (1.00 FTW) found in rural trap sites (252 sites) and 136 flies (1.08 FTW) in urban sites (125 sites). Normally, trap capture rates are higher in urban areas than in rural areas. However, as forecast last month, rural rates are catching up with urban rates as more and more fruit become attractive to Queensland fruit fly (QFF) in rural areas. Rural trapping rates are now on the increase as QFF move from urban areas, where fruit fly host material is now relatively limited into rural sites where a large volume of fruit fly host material is currently ripening. Urban FTW peak in late September usually and then again over an extended period from mid-December to late January. Rural FTW, on the other hand, tend to peak over the period from mid-March to early May.

This report was produced by Andrew Jessup, Janren Consulting Pty Ltd in conjunction with the Project Coordinator and analysis of regional trapping data supplied by the GMV Fruit Fly Project.