The pest is native to Asia and widespread in Egypt, which is the main non-EU supplier of oranges during the European season. The alert comes just a year after the oriental fruit fly (B. dorsalis), considered even more aggressive and polyphagous, was detected in the same country. According to the organization, the pests managed to enter EU territory on several occasions without being detected at port controls. B. zonata has already appeared in Austria (2011), France (2020, 2021, and 2022), and Italy (2023 and 2024), while B. dorsalis was located in Italy (2018), France (2019), and Belgium (2023). An audit by the European Commission confirmed that the oriental fruit fly continues to spread in Italy and that B. zonata has also not been eradicated.