Why and how two simple flies have a whole country in abeyance

February 21, 2019

Although it seems incredible, two simple flies have alarmed all of New Zealand. They are of two types and threaten to cause enormous economic losses for this country: one is the Queensland fly, which appeared in Auckland; the other guy was located south of the city.

What's the problem? The Queensland fruit fly it is able to ruin a significant amount of crops, render them unfit for consumption, and thus ruin the country's multi-billion dollar horticultural industry: New Zealand exports products to 120 countries, and only selling kiwis abroad generates a profit of over one billion dollars a year.

The government's concern for these two insects is total. The Minister of Biosafety, Damien O. Connor, had to stop his tour in the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to return to his country and face the problem. 80% of crops are vulnerable to the attack of this type of flies. The Ministry of Primary Industries said that, fortunately, it is not yet an epidemic: if it were to occur, it would be necessary to impose restrictions on exports. This would involve huge losses of money for the country.

The authorities are already working to contain the threat: they have deployed more than 2,000 fly traps, 80 biosecurity officers working in the affected areas and information has been disseminated to the population on alert and on the way forward. to detect the insect. O & # 39; Connor is optimistic about the situation: "This has happened to us several times and every time we have successfully liberated ourselves from this scourge," he said.