Fun Fact

Everything has a useness (an old Disney saying), including fruit fly infested fruit apparently.

Augmentoriums use fruit filled with fruit fly larvae covered by a mesh tent, to trap fruit fly inside and rear and release large numbers of parasitoid wasps as a biocontrol in the wild.

The first augmentorium model was tested in Kula (Maui), Hawaii 15 years ago. Augmentoriums help keep on top of pest populations, as their mesh is small enough to keep the fruit fly inside and large enough for adult parasitoid wasps to pass through and continue their important work as biocontrol agents. They are effective, non-toxic and cheap to implement - a great way to 'grow' parasitoid populations in the wild.

Read more about fruit flies, and preparedness activities we have underway in New Zealand and the kiwifruit industry, on the KVH website here.