Mount Alexander Shire Council has had a confirmed report of Queensland fruit fly in Castlemaine.
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An interim report from Agriculture Victoria confirmed adult fly and larvae sent for identification were Queensland fruit fly.
The fly was found in a fruit fly monitoring trap in Greenhill Avenue, Castlemaine. Larvae were present in nashi pears at the same location.
Council is calling on residents to act quickly to help prevent a widespread outbreak of the pest.
"Now we know there is Queensland fruit fly in Castlemaine we really do need to act straight away," Shire public and environmental health coordinator Tracey Watson said. "By working collectively, our community can get on top of this pest before it becomes widespread."
Residents can check their monitoring traps regularly, watch for larvae or grub in the fruit and vegetables, remove unwanted fruit from trees and pick fallen fruit up off the ground.
Queensland fruit fly are just over half a centimetre long, are brown with yellow shoulder pads and a yellow triangle on their mid-section.
The larvae are white or cream and range from two to nine millimetres long. They are wedge-shaped and plumper at the tail end. Mature larvae have a small black feeding hook.
"If you find infected fruit put it in a sealed plastic bag and leave it in the sun for five days. You can also boil the fruit or pop them in your freezer. This will kill any pupae and larvae," Ms Watson said..
"Unfortunately you won't destroy them just by putting them in your compost or rubbish bin,"
A monitoring program has begun around Greenhill Avenue in Castlemaine as part council's Queensland fruit fly emergency outbreak plan. To date no other flies have been detected.
If you suspect you have Queensland fruit fly contact council on 5471 1700. For more details visit www.mountalexander.vic.gov.au/FruitFly