This cache was placed to raise awareness of a serious threat which popped up in Whangarei in January 2014,the discovery of the "Queensland Fruitfly".I was within the controlled zone and had a surveillance trap placed on my property by the biosecurity team.
What is it?
The adult Queensland Fruit Fly is only about 7 mm long and reddish brown with yellow markings. However, it is recognised as one of the world's worst fruit pests - it could cost fruit growers more than $100 million each year! Adult fruit flies lay their eggs in ripe fruit, maggots then hatch from the eggs and tunnel through the flesh of the fruit turning it into a brown, filthy pulp. This means that the fruit is inedible. It lowers the profit farmers can make from their fruit, prevents the sale of fruit to some interstate and overseas markets, and can result in loss of jobs in the community.
In January 2014 a single male fruit fly was detected in the Parihaka area of Whangarei.
MPI investigated this find to determine if it was a solitary fly or part of a wider breeding population. The discovery of a single male insect does not mean a breeding population is present and does not constitute an outbreak.
For further info visit http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pests/queensland-fruit-fly.
Hopefully this cache will always be a reminder of "a close call back in 2014" and NZ doesn't gain another destructive pest, fingers crossed.