Female B. trilineola (Photo: S. Wilson) DISTRIBUTION: Restricted to Vanuatu, where it is common over nearly every islands.
HOST PLANTS: Surveys by the Fruit Fly Project have identified 31 host plant species in 26 genera and 18 families. Published host records are compiled in the detailed host list.
BIOLOGY: Adults mate in the morning and tend to mate over a long period during the day, when light intensity is high. Development time, from egg to adult, takes 21-22 days on papaya-based diet at 25°C. Adults start mating about 11 days after their emergence. Population peaks occur in January-February and April-May, corresponding to mango and guava seasons, respectively.
This species is kept in laboratory colonies in Vanuatu, reared on papaya-based diet. Heat tolerance studies have nearly been completed.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: In Vanuatu, it infests 95% of ripe guavas, 64% of ripe Malay apples and 11% of ripe mangos.
MALE LURE: Cue-lure.
QUARANTINE SURVEILLANCE: Cue-lure trapping and regular host fruit surveys of high risk species, especially breadfruit, guava, mango, Tahitian chestnut, 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:
Allwood, A.J., Tumukon, T., Tau, D., Kassim, A. 1997. Fruit fly fauna in Vanuatu. pp.77-80 in: Allwood, A.J., and Drew, R.A I., Management of fruit flies in the Pacific. ACIAR Proceedings No 76. 267pp. (Notes on B. trilineola).
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).
Leblanc, L., Leweniqila, L., Tau, D., Tumukon, T., Kassim, A., Hollingsworth, R. 1997. Can fruit flies be controlled in a village with a mixed orchard? Pacific Island experiences. pp.187-191 in: Allwood, A.J., and Drew, R.A I., Management of fruit flies in the Pacific. ACIAR Proceedings No 76. 267pp. (Experiments on guava).
Page updated on: 17 October, 2002