California accidentally introduced the olive fruit fly in 1998, and within five years, it had spread across every olive-growing region, forcing growers into permanent pest-control programs that transformed the state's olive industry.

While the tiny bug, about the size of a grain of rice, drew little concern when it appeared in Southern California in 1998, few expected it to become such a serious problem. Bactrocera oleae, the olive fruit fly, is an invasive species native to the Mediterranean region that quickly spread to California's olive-growing areas. It posed a serious threat to an agricultural sector that had long avoided its most damaging pest.

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