QUEENSLAND FRUIT FLY (Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt))
Queensland fruit fly (Photo: S. Wilson) DISTRIBUTION: Common in Australia (eastern half of Queensland, eastern New South Whales, extreme east of Victoria. Introduced in New Caledonia around 1969 and French Polynesia around 1970. Now widespread in New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Pitcairn Islands. Introduced but eradicated from Perth (Western Australia) and Easter Island in the mid-Pacific. More recently, it was detected in Rarotonga, Cook Islands, on the 21st November 2001. This is the first record of the species in Cook Islands. Its detection prompted a quick emergency response. Action is in progress to eradicate the invasive species. For more information, consult the SPC Pest Alert No 25 (121 Kb pdf document).
HOST PLANTS: A polyphagous species recorded from more than 113 host plant species in Australia. Published records from New Caledonia and French Polynesia, where it was bred from 61 species, in 40 genera and 26 families, are: Detailed host list.
BIOLOGY: Adults mate at dusk. This species has been very well studied in Australia. It is most common in village and suburban areas, rather than in rural areas and the rainforest. This species is kept in laboratory colonies in New Caledonia, where heat tolerance studies have been completed and published. Heat tolerance has also been studied in Australia.
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: The most damaging pest fruit fly in Australia.
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:
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).
Maddison, P.A. 1983. Queensland fruit fly. SPC Pest Advisory Leaflet No 18. 4pp.
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).
Download Pest Advisory Leaflet on Queensland Fruit Fly in English (538 Kb) or in French (331 Kb)
Page updated on: 12 November, 2002