Apple Moths Prompt Plant, Fruit Quarantine

A nine-square-mile area of Long Beach was under a plant-and-fruit quarantine Wednesday.

The culprit? Sixteen light brown  apple moths in the area, according to the state Department of Food and  Agriculture.

Residents and business owners in the quarantine area are prohibited from  moving nursery stock, cut flowers, fruits and vegetables out of the area  until the infestation is eliminated through the use of sterile insects.

The quarantine area is roughly between Alamitos Avenue on the west and  Pacific Coast Highway/Bellflower Boulevard on the east, from the coast to PCH.

The light brown apple moth is native to Australia and can infest more  than 250 crops -- particularly cypress and oak trees -- and destroy young  seedlings. It can also damage or spoil ornamental plants, citrus, grapes and  fruit trees.