They’re Back--2 More Medflies Found in Traps : Infestation: The pests turn up in San Bernardino County only two weeks after the state announced victory in eradication battle.

Just two weeks after the state jubilantly declared the eradication of the Mediterranean fruit fly in Southern California, agriculture officials announced Wednesday the discovery of two more of the crop-destroying pests--this time in San Bernardino County.

The two unmated female Medflies were found within three miles of each other in Upland and Rancho Cucamonga. One of the trapped flies was less than a mile from where the first Medfly ever found in the county was trapped last September.

“This is a revolting development,” said Los Angeles County Agricultural Commissioner E. Leon Spaugy. “The discouraging thing is that just a short while has passed. I had hoped we could get through winter without finding any.”

San Bernardino County Deputy Agricultural Commissioner Don Schreiber said workers will begin intensive fly trapping around the sites of the two finds. No malathion spraying or sterile fly releases are planned at this time, he said.

“It’s too early to say anything definite at this point,” Schreiber said.

The discovery of the two flies challenged the confident assessment of officials two weeks ago, who proclaimed that $52 million and nearly 16 months of malathion spraying and sterile fly releases had destroyed the last vestige of the Medfly in the region.

Jack Parnell, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, flew to California to join local and state officials in a round of congratulatory speeches. “We’re here to celebrate that we’ve eradicated the Medfly from California and unless there is another introduction, it will remain eradicated,” he said at the time.

But Richard Rice, a UC Davis entomologist and a member of the state’s Medfly Science Advisory Panel, said Parnell’s declaration of victory in what had been the largest infestation in Southern California’s history now appears premature.

“There’s no question in my mind now that they never eradicated them from this area,” Rice said. “We had better stay pretty light on our feet.”

Rice added that the two latest fly finds may indicate flaws in the state’s eradication program that could lead to more outbreaks in other previously infested areas.

James R. Carey, a UC Davis entomologist and another member of the state’s science advisory panel, added: “It was simply a matter of time. It was never clear to me that they had eradicated the Medfly at all.”

Carey argued during the last infestation that statistics demonstrate that the fly has been entrenched in pockets of the state since the mid-1970s.

The two latest Medflies were trapped Nov. 15 in residential neighborhoods. It took another week before the flies were positively identified as wild Medflies.

Rice said the weeklong delay was unacceptable given the speed with which the Medfly can multiply.

“That’s a serious flaw in their strategy right there,” he said. “It’s just unforgiveable.”

Rice said that the discovery of two flies so close together should prompt an immediate eradication program.

“You can’t give them (Medflies) that window of opportunity,” he said.

Spaugy, the Los Angeles County agricultural commissioner, disputed any contention that the massive eradication program had failed, saying he remained a believer in the state’s strategy against the Medfly.

He said the latest outbreak in San Bernardino County could have been caused by residents bringing in illegal fruit from outside the country.