a big thank you

to "drb", who left comments on my last two posts, telling me my unidentified bug could be a fruit fly. That was my first suspicion, but I've never seen a fruit fly.


drb also left a website address and the phone number for the fruit fly hotline.
Thank You, I couldn't find that number in my phone book.



I turned off the computer and called the number, got an email address, and sent them the three photos I had taken to confirm (or deny) that what I had was in fact a QLD fruit fly.



The images on the website are drawings rather than photos, so it's hard to be sure.


It's definitely not a Mediterranean (spelling?) fruit fly as those are black and speckled, according to the drawings.


But it does look like a QLD fruit fly.



Then I got a screwtop jar and went outside to catch that bugger!


He's inside the jar next to my computer now.



I felt I had to do this, because there are backyard fruit and veg gardens all around my home, and many more in the neighbourhood. I can't be jeopardising those gardens, or indeed the rest of the state's fruit production, just because I think he's a pretty little thing.



I'll let you all know as soon as I find out for sure.


I think I will also suggest to the fruit fly website that photos instead of or as well as drawings might make it easier for people to identify these flies. Wasps too.


6:44pm; I've had a reply from the fruit fly people, seems my pretty little bug is not a fruit fly, so I've let him go back into the garden.

Comments

  1. Interesting. I've compared it to several photos of Qld fruit fly, and it looks different to me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The council will be pretty proud of you for contacting them if it *is* a fruit fly.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Andrew; I've never seen photos of any type of fruit fly, only drawings. When the council replied to me they sent photos of a QLD fruit fly so I could see the difference. I hope I haven't deleted those, I'd like to post them so others can see what a fruit fly looks like.

    Kath; I like to do a good deed now and again, especially when it might benefit my whole state.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I thought Victoria was free of fruitfly then I can't remember which border they used to make you stop and inspect your car for fruit.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It was the NSW/Victoria border.
    I remember it well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Veronica; I'm glad I was able to let it go again.

    Baino; it's SA that's free of fruit fly. We can take fruit across the border, but we can't bring any fruit and veg back into SA.

    R.H. you're correct. I remember it too. Stopping just before the border and eating all the fruit left in the esky.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi River,
    I am glad that it is not a fruit fly. Did they tell you what it is?
    Victoria is not fruit fly free anymore (they have given up). Now, at the Vic/SA border has a quarentine bin to place fruits and veg about 1km in Vic before Bordertown.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Correction: Northern victoria is still a fruit fly exclusion zone.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Yep, my family used to have that same kind of can opener. It was dreadful. What a funny story about the can preceding something to open it with. People used knives, I suppose. I also remember something about people on an Arctic expedition getting sick from the lead in the cans way long ago

    ReplyDelete

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