Dacus solomonensis Malloch

Dacus solomonensis     (Photo: S. Wilson)	Drawing of D. solomonensis  (Drawing: M. Romig)

DISTRIBUTION: Bougainville Province in Papua New Guinea and all Solomon Islands Provinces except, Rennell-Bellona and Temotu.

HOST PLANTS: Usually plants in the family Cucurbitaceae. Hosts recorded in surveys in Solomon Islands are:

Plant families	Plant species	Common names	Solomon Is
CUCURBITACEAE	Cucumis sativus	Cucumber	X
CUCURBITACEAE	Cucurbita pepo	Pumpkin	X
CUCURBITACEAE	Luffa aegyptiaca	Luffa or spongy gourd	X
CUCURBITACEAE	Trichosanthes cucumerina	Snake gourd	X
GUTTIFERAE	Calophyllum inophyllum	Indian laurel	X

Sources of published host data: 

Drew, R.A.I. 1989. The Tropical Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) of the Australasian and Oceanian regions. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 26: 1-521.
Drew, R.A.I. and M. Romig. 2001. The Fruit Fly Fauna (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) of Bougainville, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. Australian Journal of Entomology. 40. 113-150. 
Leblanc, L. 2000. Fruit Flies in Solomon Islands. SPC Pest Advisory Leaflet No 30. 4pp.
Vagalo, M., Hollingsworth, R. and F. Tsatsia. 1997. Fruit Fly Fauna in Solomon Islands. pp. 81-86 in: Allwood, A.J. and R.A.I. Drew. Management of Fruit Flies in the Pacific. ACIAR Proceedings No 76. 267p.

BIOLOGY: Laboratory colonies are kept in Solomon Islands for life history studies and future heat tolerance research. Larvae are reared in whole fruits of snake gourds. At 25°C, eggs start hatching after 46 hours and larval development takes about 12 days in pumpkin and snake gourd. Pupal period lasts about 9 days and adult mating starts about 16 days after adult emergence.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: In Solomon Islands, D. solomonensis and melon fly are collectively responsible for over 90% damage on snake gourds and 60-87% damage on pumpkin.

MALE LURE: Cue-lure.

QUARANTINE SURVEILLANCE: Cue-lure trapping and regular host fruit surveys of Cucurbitaceae.

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: Protein bait spraying, destruction of fallen and overripe fruits, early harvest of mature green fruits.

REFERENCES:  
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). 
Tsatsia, F., Hollingsworth, R. 1997. Rearing techniques for Dacus solomonensis and Bactrocera cucurbitae in Solomon Islands. pp. 157-160 in: Allwood, A.J., and Drew, R.A I., Management of fruit flies in the Pacific. ACIAR Proceedings No 76. 267pp.

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