Female B. psidii (Photo: S. Wilson) DISTRIBUTION: Endemic to New Caledonia.
HOST PLANTS: Recorded from 33 host plant species in 23 genera and 16 families: Detailed host list.
BIOLOGY: Adults mate during the day, when light intensity is high. It is most commonly trapped in rural areas and rainforest, rather than in village and suburban environments. This species is kept in laboratory colonies in New Caledonia. Larvae are reared on banana-based diet. Heat tolerance studies have been completed in New Caledonia and published.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE:
MALE LURE: Cue-lure.
QUARANTINE SURVEILLANCE: Cue-lure trapping and regular host fruit surveys of high risk species, especially guava, mango, Syzygium apples and tropical almond.
OPTIONS FOR RESPONSE (If newly discovered in a country): Increased trapping, increased host fruit sampling, restriction of fruit movement, protein bait spraying, male annihilation.
CONTROL: Fruit bagging, protein bait spraying, destruction of fallen and overripe fruits, early harvest of mature green fruits.
REFERENCES:
Amice, R., Sales, F. 1997. Fruit fly fauna in New Caledonia. pp.68-76 in: Allwood, A.J., and Drew, R.A I., Management of fruit flies in the Pacific. ACIAR Proceedings No 76. 267pp. (hosts).
Drew, R.A.I. 1989.The tropical fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) of the Australasian and Oceanian regions. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. Volume 26. 521 pp. (Description and illustration).
Sales, F., Paulaud, D., Maindonald, J. 1997. Comparison of egg and larval stage mortality of three fruit fly species (Diptera: Tephritidae after immersion in hot water. pp.247-250 in: Allwood, A.J., and Drew, R.A I., Management of fruit flies in the Pacific. ACIAR Proceedings No 76. 267pp. (Heat tolerance).
Page updated on: 12 November, 2002