Sterile Medflies Enter Battle

Millions of passionate pink sterilized Mediterranean fruit flies were unleashed today in the San Fernando Valley where it is hoped they will mate with wild Medflies to produce eggs that will never hatch.

Workers in trucks began releasing buckets of flies at about 10 a.m. while other workers waited for a lingering overcast to clear so they could use an airplane to drop more flies over a 16-square-mile target area. Four million of the dyed flies were expected to be turned loose today and 20 million by the end of the week. Six of the flies that threaten fruit and vegetable crops have been found in the San Fernando Valley, including two males discovered this weekend in Reseda.