ABSTRACT
The success of Mediterranean fruit fly eradication in 1982, as well as maintaining Mexico free of Mediterranean fruit fly post-eradication, required the development of a large group of practical sterile insect technique experts. This pool of experts permitted plans for the use of SIT against other fruit fly species in Mexico. From its beginnings in 1979, the Mediterranean fruit fly Mass-Rearing Plant at Metapa was planned to produce 500 million pupae; its production goals were achieved by the end of that year and have remained consistent. Moscamed Mediterranean fruit fly weekly pupa production ranges from 500 to 700 million per week. Sterile Anastrepha obliqua releases are expected to occur by the fourth year of the eradication campaign, if goals continue to be met at the same rate. With its outstanding Mediterranean fruit fly production alone, the Metapa mass rearing complex is already the largest fruit fly factory in the world.
