Researchers Confirm New Fruit Fly in Minnesota

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - University of Minnesota researchers have confirmed a new invasive fruit fly in Minnesota.

A single adult female known as the African fig fly was discovered in a bait trap in September. The trap was located in Hastings and was being used for annual monitoring of another invasive fruit fly, the spotted wing Drosophila.

The university says the new fly specimen was officially identified this week by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The African fig fly has a pair of white stripes, outlined in black, running from the antennae to the tip of the thorax.

The fly is native to tropical Africa, the Middle East and Eurasia and is a typical pest of fig fruits.

The university says the detection of a single fly indicates any Minnesota populations are likely small.