Queensland fruit fly

This the area around where Qfly has been detected. This zone is the focus of intensive efforts to eliminate the pest.

DPIRD officers are undertaking inspections, trapping and spot baiting with a registered organic control on public, private and commercial properties.

If you are a resident in the red zone:

1. Remove all fruit regardless of maturity from Qfly host plants, as well as fallen fruit. We understand that removing all host fruit from your garden is a sacrifice - it is a temporary measure but a powerful one that is designed at limiting the risk to your garden in the long term.
   
   
2. Treat or eat – All home grown or store-bought host must be treated using any of these methods
• Eat
• Cook – eg boil or microwave until thoroughly heated
• Freeze for at least 24 hours
• Process – slice or dice, blend/puree, juice, make jam, pickle or relish.
• Solarise – secure host fruit in a well-sealed or double bagged black plastic bag and place it on a hard surface in direct sunlight for at least seven days.
  
  
3. Dispose – After treating, securely bag treated host fruit waste/scraps and put into your general waste – not green waste or FOGO.

Do not share or sell home grown host fruit. Stop the spread of Qfly by not sharing host fruit or fruiting vegetables with friends or relatives. This excludes fruit that has been cooked, frozen, processed or cut into bite-sized pieces.

Trees will not need to be removed as part of the department’s Qfly biosecurity response, as effective treatments are available to control the pest.

The area within a 15 km radius of the initial detections is called the orange zone or Export Assurance Zone. This zone helps prevent the further spread of Qfly.

If you are a resident in the orange zone:

Host fruit grown in the orange zone and host plants must not move within or from the orange zone unless:

• host fruit and fruiting vegetables have been treated by processing, cooking or freezing and securely packaged, stored and transported to prevent infestation by Qfly.
  
  
• all fruit (regardless of ripeness) has been removed from host plants prior to movement
  
  
• movement of host fruit for processing, such as (but not limited to) grapes for wine making or olives for olive oil production, please contact the department for information on what is required prior to movement.

If you are a business in the orange zone:

For host fruit, which includes fruiting vegetables, and host plants bearing fruit that are grown in the orange zone and moved for commercial purposes, they can move within the orange and to the red zone so long as they meet the movement requirements for the zone.

Host fruit and host plants grown in the orange zone can only move to the green zone if meet at least one of the following conditions:

1. the fruit has been treated by processing, cooking, or freezing for a minimum of 24 hours; or
   
   
2. the department has been notified (prior to the movement) of the fruit to be moved for processing, and the fruit is securely transported to a processing facility in accordance with measures approved by the department’s Chief Plant Biosecurity Officer; or
   
   
3. the department has been notified (prior to movement) of the fruit or host plants to be moved, and the fruit or host plants are treated, securely packaged, stored and transported in accordance with measures approved by the department’s Chief Plant Biosecurity Officer; or
   
   
4. the department has been notified (prior to the movement) of the fruit to be moved for treatment outside of the quarantine area, and the fruit is securely packaged, stored and transported in accordance with measures approved by the department’s Chief Plant Biosecurity Officer; or
   
   
5. all fruit has been removed from the host plant prior to the movement of the plant; or
   
   
6. the fruit or host plants are moved in accordance with an authorisation given by an inspector or as directed by an inspector.

• Nurseries, garden centres and any retailer that sells nursery stock must remove all fruit regardless of maturity from Qfly host plants prior to movement.
  
  
• Commercially grown host fruit commercial fruit coming from the green zone into or passing through the Quarantine Area (red and orange zones) must be maintained under secure conditions to ensure the produce does not become infested. This includes:
• Unvented packages.
• Vented packages with the vents secured with mesh with a maximum aperture of 1.6 mm.
• Vented packages enclosing a liner bag or liner sheet that obscure vent holes.
• Packages, bins or palletised units fully enclosed under plastic wrap, tarpaulins, hessian, mesh or other coverings that prevent infestation by Qfly.
• Fully enclosed or screened buildings, cold-rooms, vehicles or other facilities free from gaps or other entry points greater than 1.6 mm.

Any produce not maintained under secure conditions must be fumigated or treated, see Qfly approved measures.  

The Green zone is the area outside of the Quarantine Area where area freedom for Qfly is still recognised.

Both homegrown and commercial host fruit coming from the green zone into or passing through the QA (red and orange zones) must be securely covered all times to ensure the produce does not become infested.

Adult

Identification: The body has 3 segments and is about 6-8 mm long. The head has 2 red eyes with 2 very short antennae (only visible under close inspection). The thorax (middle segment) is reddish-brown with yellow patches on the sides and back. The abdomen (end segment) is a solid dark brown. The legs are a lighter shade of brown and the wings are clear.  

Behaviour: Adult Qfly emerge from the ground. After feeding and mating, females search for suitable ripe fruit to lay their eggs inside, restarting the cycle. The lifecycle is more rapid when temperatures are high. In summer, Qfly can develop from egg to adult in 3 weeks. Adult flies can live for months

Eggs  

Idenitification: White 1 mm banana-shaped .  

Behaviour: Females lays eggs just under the surface of the fruit. One Qfly can lay up to 100 eggs a day.

Maggot (larva)  

Idenitification: Cream-coloured maggots hatch from each egg, reaching about 7 mm long when mature.  

Behaviour: Maggots or larvae hatch from the egg after 2 to 3 days and start feeding on the fruit. Larvae quickly grow from 1mm to 1cm long when mature.

Pupa

Identification: Mature larvae change into an oval, brown hard pupa.

Behaviour: Fully grown larva jump from the fruit and drops to the ground and tunnel into the soil, where they become inactive and change into a barrel-shaped pupa.

Qfly spread through the movement of infested fruit and vegetables. The adult flies are strong fliers and can travel significant distances to find new host plants. Human-assisted spread occurs through the transport of infested produce.