Pacific Pests, Pathogens, Weeds & Pesticides - Online edition

Pacific Pests, Pathogens, Weeds & Pesticides

Solomon Islands fruit flies (021)

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Photo 1. Mango fly, Bactrocera frauenfeldi.

Photo 2. Melon fly, Zeugodacus (Bactrocera) cucurbitae.

Photo 3. Breadfruit fly, Bactrocera umbrosa.

Summary

  • Bactrocera frauenfeldi - avocado, breadfruit, citrus, capsicum, carambola, guava, jackfruit, Malay apple, mango, papaya, plantain, soursop, and more; B. solomonensis - cucurbits; B. cucurbitae - cucurbits; B. umbrosa - breadfruit and jackfruit.
  • Females need protein to lay viable eggs.
  • Cultural control: bag fruit with paper or leaves; collect fallen fruit and destroy; harvest early (banana and papaya); some non-hosts, e.g., chilli, pineapple.
  • Chemical control: use a commercial protein bait spray, e.g. MPPIL, Royal Tongalure or Bactrogel.

Common Name

Breadfruit fly, mango fly, melon fly, Solomon fly

Scientific Name

Mango fly (Bactrocera frauenfeldi) (Photo 1); melon fly [Zeugodacus (Bactrocera) cucurbitae)] (Photo 2); breadfruit fly (Bactrocera umbrosa) (Photo 3); Solomon fly (Dacus solomonensis ) (Photo 4). There are many more fruit fly species in Solomon Islands, but these are pests of economic importance.

Photo 4. Solomon fly, Dacus solomonensis.

Photo 5. Fruit fly eggs.

Photo 6. Fruit fly larvae or maggots.

Photo 7. Fruit fly pupae.

Photo 8. Newspaper with edges folded and stapled to form a bag in which to insert fruit to protect it from fruit flies.

Photo 9. Banana leaves used to wrap a fruit bunch to prevent attack by fruit flies, other pests, and to promote uniform ripening, in Papua New Guinea.

AUTHORS Helen Tsatsia & Grahame Jackson
Information (and photos 1,3-9) Leblanc L (2000) Fruit flies in Solomon Islands, SPC Pest Advisory Leaflet 30 (https://lrd.spc.int/pest-advisory-leaflet?start=10); and from Allwood A et al. (Fruit fly control methods for Pacific island countries and territories (2001), SPC Pest Advisory Leaflet 40. SPC, Noumea, New Caledonia. (https://lrd.spc.int/pubs/cat_view/469-pest-advisory-leaflets). Photo 2 Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org.

Produced with support from the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research under project PC/2010/090: Strengthening integrated crop management research in the Pacific Islands in support of sustainable intensification of high-value crop production, implemented by the University of Queensland and the Secretariat of the Pacific Community.

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