Officials Hope 80 Million Pink Medflies Are a Breed Apart

Millions of sterile Mediterranean fruit flies will be dropped from a plane over Irvine, Lake Forest and Laguna Hills beginning today in an all-out aerial assault on the crop-destroying pest.

Agricultural officials expect to dump about 80 million insects--dyed pink to distinguish them from fertile medflies--in a 22-square-mile area over the next three months.

The goal is for the sterile flies to mate with the fertile ones and “literally breed this insect out of existence,” said Larry Hawkins of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Officials stressed that the massive release poses no health risks to the people living below, through some might notice more small insects than normal in backyard trees.

“We will not see flies in biblical proportion dropped from the rear of the airplane,” Hawkins said.

Added Kevin Herglotz, a spokesman for the California Department of Food and Agriculture: “It’s just good bugs fighting bad bugs.”

Local leaders and residents seemed to be taking the impending fly invasion in stride.

“It’s not like there’s going to be this great cloud over town,” Lake Forest Mayor Peter Herzog said. “Really, they’ll be unnoticeable to the citizenry. It’s very important the Mediterranean fruit fly be exterminated, and this is the proven methodology of doing that.”

Brian Chinnery, manager of Armstrong Garden Centers, a nursery about five miles from the where the original flies were found, said he considers the release of the sterile medflies to be beneficial.

“It’s going to help us in the long run so we can get back to business as usual,” Chinnery said. “I’ve dealt with medflies before--they are very small, inconspicuous and they don’t swarm. I don’t see it as being an issue at all.”

The flies will be dropped from a fixed-wing, twin-engine airplane flying at about 17,000 feet.

About 7.5 million flies a week will be dropped through mid-November.

“I get the impression that, even though it sounds like a whole lot of flies, probably by the time they get to Earth there won’t be so many,” Lake Forest Councilwoman Marcia Randolph said.

The action comes a week after a 22-square-mile quarantine zone was established around portions of Irvine, Lake Forest and Laguna Hills because of the recent discovery of five medflies.

Officials described it as a “minor infestation” that requires immediate action to prevent agricultural crops from being damaged.

*

In addition to the fruit fly release, limited malathion spraying has begun in the 200-meter radius surrounding the first medfly discovery.

The corn-syrup-coated malathion is being sprayed by hand in the fruit trees of the 270 homes in the area.

Spraying will continue over the next two Fridays.

Officials hope the release of the sterile flies will prevent the need for aerial malathion spraying, which residents often oppose.

Aerial spraying has not taken place in the state since 1995 because of the success of the sterilization program.

Officials are relying on residents within the quarantine zone to keep all home-grown fruit on their property.

Transport of infected fruit presents the greatest risk of spreading the pest.

Those with questions about the spraying can call the state Department of Agriculture at (800) 675-2427.