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Pacific Pests, Pathogens & Weeds - Mini Fact Sheet Edition

Queensland fruit fly (425)

Photo 1. Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni. Note, the yellow stripe towards the edge of the thorax as seen from above.

Photo 2. Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (side view).

Photo 3. Steiner fruit fly trap. A plastic cylinder about 1 litre volume, with openings at each end for entry of the flies and to allow free movement of the pheromone from the cotton wick.

Summary

Restricted. Oceania. In Australia (under eradication except Queensland), French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Pitcairn.
A very serious and invasive pest causing rots in >200 fruits, vegetables and wild species.
Eggs laid (100/day) inside hosts just below surface. Maggots up to 7 mm long, curl into U-shape and jump. Fall to ground to pupate. Adults 5-8 mm long, 10-12 mm wingspan, red-brown thorax, two yellow stripes near the sides, black spots below antennae, clear wings.
Spread on the wing (strong flier), by people while travelling, and international trade in fruit.
Natural enemies: parasitism up to 30% but not effective in supressing populations.
Biosecurity: technologies and schemes to facilitate trade including:
- post-harvest measures: HTFA (high temperature forced air); low temperatures; insecticide dips; irradiation.
- area freedom: supported by cultural and chemical measures, e.g., pheromone traps on defined grids; frequent monitoring; public awareness.
- area-wide management: trapping; protein-bait/insecticide sprays; male annihilation (concentrated trapping); cover sprays as a last resort (e.g., dimethoate); community application of cultural controls; public awareness.
Cultural control: i) monitor - trap male flies with pheromone (cure-lure); regularly check ripe fruit; ii) proteins baits – use yeast autolysate and insecticide spray; iii) hygiene – bag fruit; harvest early; pick up fallen fruit, and destroy.
Eradication: define quarantine area; control fruit movement; remove fruit from trees and collect fallen fruit, protein bait/insecticide sprays; male annihilation; possibly SIT (sterile insect technique)

Common Name

Queensland fruit fly; abbreviation QFF.

Scientific Name

Bactrocera tryoni

AUTHOR Grahame Jackson
Information (and Photos 1&2) Hinkley S, Walker K (2005) Queensland Fruit Fly (Bactrocera tryoni). PaDIL - https://www.padil.gov.au; and Ekman J (2016) Fruit fly management for vegetable growers. Applied Horticulture Reseach. Horticulture Innovation Australia. (http://ahr.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Fruit-Fly-guide-Booklet.pdf); and Information for gardeners. Agriculture Victoria. (http://agriculture.vic.gov.au/agriculture/pests-diseases-and-weeds/pest-insects-and-mites/queensland-fruit-fly/gardeners); and CABI Bactrocera tryoni (Queensland fruit fly) (2018) Crop Protection Compendium. (https://www.cabi.org/cpc); and from Waterhouse DF (1993)¹Biological Control Pacific Prospects - Supplement 2. ACIAR Monograph No. 20. Brown Prior Anderson, Burwood, Victoria.

Produced with support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research under project HORT/2016/185: Responding to emerging pest and disease threats to horticulture in the Pacific islands, implemented by the University of Queensland and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

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