Glendale Trap Snares Medfly Outside of Aerial Spray Zones

A Mediterranean fruit fly was discovered in Glendale, the second such discovery in the area this week, Los Angeles County agriculture officials said Thursday.

The fertile male fly was discovered in a trap in a residential yard, officials said.

On Wednesday, an unmated female fly was discovered in a trap in a lemon tree on residential property in Sun Valley, about half a mile northeast of the Golden State Freeway and Sunland Boulevard, a spokesman for the state Department of Food and Agriculture said.

Both flies were found outside of current Malathion aerial treatment areas, deputy County Agricultural Commissioner Bob Atkins said.

North Hollywood and four other areas will be sprayed over the next two weeks in the effort to stamp out the Medfly outbreak, the worst in Southern California history.

Officials of the state and federal Cooperative Medfly Project said they were unsure if the Sun Valley discovery would lead to expansion of the treatment areas. If more spraying is ordered, they were considering treating a 15-square-mile area around the discovery site.

Spraying in the area could take place in the next couple of weeks, Atkins said.

Atkins said the male fly, also discovered Wednesday, is not one of the sterile males that have been released in parts of the county in hopes of getting the flies to breed themselves out of existence.