Sterile fruit flies option for Tassie

STERILE fruit flies could be used to help kill off the pest in the state once Biosecurity Tasmania wraps up its current detection and eradication program.

This week, two million captive-bred and sterile Queensland fruit flies were released by plane over Adelaide to ensure a ground baiting and trapping program eradicated a recent fruit fly outbreak near the South Australian capital.

The flies, from the sterile Queensland fruit fly facility in Port Augusta, were bred with the most attractive traits to potential wild mates. This included superior singing skills, smell, endurance, fitness, agility and looks.

The aim of the release is to attract any stray and fertile fruit flies to remaining sterile flies in order to prevent future offspring.

This is timed after the detection and eradication program, including trapping, spraying and baiting, concludes while existing flies start to die off.

The Port Augusta facility has produced about 30 million sterile fruit flies each week, increasing to about 100 million by 2019.

The Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment has confirmed Biosecurity Tasmania is inquiring about a sterile fly release in the state.

“Biosecurity officers are currently in discussions with the Sterile Insect Technology Facility and its experts to determine if releasing sterile Queensland fruit flies in Tasmania could assist our eradication efforts,” a spokesman said.

Fruit Growers Tasmania business development manager Phil Pyke said that the sterile flies would be implemented after the current eradication measures finished.

He said it was unknown when Biodiversity Tasmania would finish up at this stage.

“During winter the flies go dormant, there is no fruit around for them,” Mr Pyke said.

Last week, a fruit fly larvae was detected near the George Town detection site, with more larvae found in a grapefruit at a South Hobart grocery store.

The South Hobart find, which had been through an approved treatment facility in Victoria, resulted in fruit growers voicing concerns about the fruit fly fumigation system.

They have called on the State Government to fix the problem.

More than 1000 fruit fly traps are being monitored statewide and no flies have been detected outside the control zones in northern Tasmania and Flinders Island.