APHIS Removes West Indian Fruit Fly (Anastrepha obliqua) Quarantine in Hidalgo County, Texas

FOR INFORMATION AND ACTION
DA-2026-25 
August 11, 2026 

Subject: APHIS Removes West Indian Fruit Fly (Anastrepha obliqua) Quarantine in Hidalgo County, Texas 

To: State, Tribal, and Territory Agricultural Regulatory Officials 

On June 9, 2026, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), in cooperation with the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), removed the West Indian fruit fly (Anastrepha obliqua) quarantine in Hidalgo County, designated the Palmview quarantine. This action released 68.2 square miles from quarantine, including 495.7 acres of commercial citrus. 

APHIS originally restricted the interstate movement of regulated articles from this area to prevent the spread of West Indian fruit fly to non-infested areas of the United States. APHIS and TDA have now successfully eradicated this transient West Indian fruit fly population using approved program control methods. 

You can find maps and descriptions of all the current federal fruit fly quarantine areas on the APHIS Exotic Fruit Flies webpage. APHIS will also publish a notice about this change in the Federal Register. 

For more information, contact: 

Catherine Marzolf 
National Policy Manager 
386-666-9932 
catherine.a.marzolf@usda.gov

Glorimar Marrero 
Assistant National Policy Manager 
240-577-4633 
glorimar.marrero@usda.gov

/s/

Matthew A. Rhoads 
Deputy Administrator 
Plant Protection and Quarantine