It's the first quarantine ever in the Western Hemisphere for the Tau fruit fly, which is native to Asia, agriculture officials said. The fly was discovered on June 6 in the unincorporated area of Stevenson Ranch, about 48 kilometres north of downtown Los Angeles, and was likely brought by a traveler bringing uninspected produce into California, officials said.
Avocadoes, tomatoes and watermelons are just a few of the roughly 100 fruits that can play host to the fly, making it easier to gain a foothold. If it spreads, the fly could destroy crops and prompt farmers to spray more pesticides to maintain their yields. "It's protecting the growers at the farmers market too, because they don't want to transport the fly back to their farms," Pellman said.