LAGUNA BEACH : Australian Fruit Fly Turns Up in a Trap

State agriculture officials announced Tuesday that one Queensland fruit fly, a destructive pest to fruits and vegetables, has been found in a trap here.

Agriculture officials said the fly, a native of Australia, could cause harm to more than 100 species of fruits and vegetables if it became widespread.

To determine if more of the flies are in the Orange County area, additional traps are being set, said Carl DeWing, a spokesman for the state Department of Food and Agriculture in Sacramento. He said the department’s overall plan of action on the newly found pest was still being worked out Tuesday, but he indicated that spraying is not immediately being contemplated.

“One fruit fly is not going to create an aerial spray,” DeWing said. “We don’t spray unless there is a cluster of flies in one location.”

The agriculture department ran into criticism in urbanized Orange County last year because of its spraying to eradicate another pest, the Mediterranean fruit fly. Many city and county elected officials vainly attempted to halt the spraying, saying that possible toxic side effects to humans might result. The department categorically denied that spraying posed any dangers, however.

The newly located Queensland fruit fly was found in the Laguna Beach trap Monday, DeWing said, adding that the insect was a male.

DeWing said agriculture officials believe the Queensland fruit fly came into the United States by fruit illegally carried by a tourist or immigrant. “It is for this reason that agricultural officials remind all California residents to observe quarantine regulations and bring into the state only produce which has been inspected,” DeWing said.