Eighty-five square miles of farmland in Florida have been quarantined after a tiny fly was spotted near Miami a few weeks ago.

After being detected in Miami, the Oriental fruit fly then spread to Redland in Miami-Dade County, which is known for being one of the most productive agricultural areas in the nation.

Florida's agriculture commissioner, Adam Putnam, decided to quarantine the area in order to combat the Oriental fruit fly, which can destroy hundreds of varieties of fruits and vegetables, reports Newsweek. He also declared a state of emergency, mandating that fruit be stripped and destroyed in areas where the flies have been found.

When the quarantine went into effect two weeks ago, farmers were preparing to harvest a variety of fruit crops, according to NPR. As a result, most of their crops are not permitted to leave the area and much of the fruit will have to be disposed.

Putnam says that the Oriental fruit fly is capable of feeding and laying eggs upon 400 different types of fruit crops. After feeding on fruit, Putnam explained that the fly "pierces it, lays its eggs and causes obviously a very unpleasant condition in that fruit when those eggs are laid in there."

Salvador Fernandez, a grower and distributor in Redland, told NPR that the quarantine has produced costly results for dragon fruit and a fruit called mamey.

"We estimated that we have mamey alone about 500,000 pounds left on the trees," he says. "[As for] dragon fruit, that leaves 20 million pounds on the trees potentially."

Fernandez added that if the fly is not soon eradicated, "there will be serious consequences for an industry in Miami-Dade County valued at $700 million." Meanwhile, many growers expect to lose their jobs.

Although inspectors have found nearly 160 Oriental fruit flies so far, there has been a decrease in counts, which could indicate that the eradication measures are effective.