• Widespread. Australia (Western Australia); NOT in Pacific island countries.
• Major invasive pest with wide host range.
• Eggs (plus bacteria) laid in flowers and fruits giving a characteristic ‘sting’. Bacteria rot flesh providing food for maggots, and the fruits fall. Adults, slightly smaller than a house fly, mostly black scutellum, two light bands on abdomen, and wings with brownish-yellow bands across the middle. Life cycle 2-3 months.
• Spread on the wing (weak flier), and as larvae in infested fruit.
• Bicontrol: Fopius species, Diachasmimorpha longicaudata, Psyttalia uncisi effective in Hawaii only because of alternative host (oriental fruit fly).
• Biosecurity: technologies and schemes to facilitate trade including:
  • post-harvest measures: HTFA (high temperature forced air); low temperature; insecticide dips; irradiation.
  • area freedom, or area-wide management.
  • consider in-country quarantines where Med fly is not widespread, or where countries free from Med fly border those infested.
• Cultural control: (i) monitor - trap male flies with pheromone (trimedlure or Biolure Unipak®); regularly check ripe fruit; (ii) proteins baits – use yeast autolysate and insecticide as a spot spray; (iii) hygiene – bag fruit; harvest early; pick up fallen fruit and remove those damaged but still on the crop, and destroy; (iv) destroy remains of harvest – crush, burn, bury, freeze, plough.
• 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).
• Chemical control: Protein bait (yeast hydrolysate) plus insecticide spot sprays, or lure-&-kill traps with attractant and insecticide.

Med fly

Ceratitis capitata