Abstract: Fruit flies are pests of economic importance in many fruit crops. Little was known about Tephritid diversity in citrus orchards in southern Benin prior to this study. Traps baited with parapheromones were set in citrus orchards from August 2008 to August 2009 in the Atlantique, Oueme and Zou departments to identify fruit fly species and monitor the fluctuation of their populations. Citrus fruits were also sampled during the citrus season (from August 2008 through August 2009) at two-week intervals and assessed in the laboratory for fruit fly damage. Other cultivated and wild fruits near the citrus orchards were also collected. The fruit fly detection trapping showed that Bactrocera invadens Drew Tsuruta & White followed by Dacus bivittatus (Bigot), was the most predominant species recorded in Citrus orchards. Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) was also recorded along with six species of Ceratitis. From all fruits sampled, the emerged fruit fly species were primarily B. invadens (98.3%), followed by B. cucurbitae, Ceratitis fasciventris (Bezzi), Ceratitis ditissima (Munro), Ceratitis anonae Graham and Dacus punctatifrons Karsch. The infestation rate was highest on Citrus reticulata Blanco (22%), followed by C. tangelo Macfad (18.7–19.7%) and Citrus sinensis Osbeck (5.3– 8.74%). These results are significant for the decision-making process for effective monitoring and management of B. invadens in citrus orchards in southern Benin.

Abstract: The olive fruit fly Bactrocera (Dacus) oleae Gmelin is a major olive pest in Greece and other Mediterranean countries. Its population density and respective olive infestation is usually low in many areas of northern Greece during summer months. To some extent, this may be due to the prevailing high temperature and low relative humidity conditions. In the present work the effects of short term exposure to high temperatures on the survival and egg production of B. oleae pre-imaginal stages and adults were studied under laboratory conditions. Different larval instars within infested green olive fruits, adults and pupae and were exposed for 2 h to a series of different high constant temperatures ranging from 34 to 42� C. Subsequently, survival percentages of pre-imaginal stages and adults as well as the number of eggs laid by females previously exposed to high temperatures were determined. At temperatures up to 38� C high survival percentages of larvae and adults were observed, whereas pupae displayed a relatively increased heat tolerance up to 40� C. Female longevity and egg production were substantially reduced after heat stress. Prior acclimation at 33� C for 1 and 3 days resulted in increased adult survival following heat stress. We discuss the results with respect to the ability of the fly to survive and reproduce under high summer temperatures.

Abstract: Most of the current knowledge about African tephritids originates from studies performed in agricultural areas, while information about their distribution in pristine or moderately disturbed environments is extremely scarce. This study aims at (i) describing levels of spatial variability of frugivorous tephritids in tropical forests and small rural villages of the Congo River basin and (ii) verifying if human-mediated activities, such as small-scale agriculture and trade, can affect their distribution patterns. Four locations were sampled along a 250 km stretch of the Congo River. At each location, pristine and disturbed habitats (i.e. tropical forests and small rural villages, respectively) were sampled, with three replicate sites in each combination of habitat and location. Sampling with modified McPhail traps baited with four different attractants yielded 819 tephritid specimens of 29 species from seven genera (Bactrocera, Carpophthoromyia, Ceratitis, Dacus, Celidodacus, Perilampsis, Trirhithrum). The three most abundant species sampled (Dacus bivittatus, D. punctatifrons, Bactrocera invadens) showed significant variations in abundance across locations and sites and accounted for 98.29% of the overall dissimilarity between habitats. Assemblages differed among locations and sites while they showed significant differences between pristine and disturbed habitats in two out of the four locations. This study shows that frugivorous tephritids in central Congo have remarkably patchy distributions with differences among locations and sites representing the main source of variability. Our data show that, in rural villages of central Democratic Republic of Congo, human activities, such as small-scale agriculture and local commerce, are not always sufficient to promote differences between the tephritid assemblages of villages and those of the surrounding tropical forests.

Abstract: Genetic characterization of two species of fruit flies belonging to the genus Bactrocera (=Dacus), namely, B. cucurbitae and B. dorsalis was carried out using ten RAPD markers. In B. cucurbitae and B. dorsalis twenty four and twenty one fragments were amplified ranging from 150bp-2000bp, respectively. Four out of ten primers were monomorphic. Mean heterozygosity in B. cucurbitae and B. dorsalis was 0.119 and 0.093, respectively. Nei’s genetic identity value (0.831), calculated using Tools For Population Genetic Analysis (TFPGA) software, reveals very close genetic similarity between the two species.

Abstract: Flies are major pests of fruits in Cote d'Ivoire. The fight against these pests is achieved by using several methods including parasitoids. The study was carried out under orchards semi naturel conditions in southern, central, northern areas of Cote d'Ivoire. An inventory was made after a mass breeding in box containing fruits placed in sterilized and humidified sand. The fruits were covered by muslin. Four species of fly hosts of the parasitoids were listed: Bactrocera invadens, Ceratitis quinaria, Ceratitis cosyra and Dacus bivittatus. Eight species of parasitoids belonging to the Hymenoptera order, Braconidae family and three genera were identified: Diachasmimorpha(D.) tryoni, D. fullawayi, Fopius(F.) arisanus, F. caudatus, F. vandenboschi, F. silvestrii, Psyttalia (P)lounsburyi and P. incisi. The most abundant species were D. tryoni, D. fullawayi, F. arisanus and F. Caudatus. Fruits infested by females of B. invadens and C. cosyra were presented to females of the four parasitoids species. The parasitism rates varied from 26.36 ± 0.31 to 48.95 ± 0.71% on B. invadens and 34.33 ± 0.39 to 52.47 ± 0.33 % on C. cosyra. The highest parasitism rates were recorded with D. tryoni on the two hosts. The species D. tryoni seems to be the best parasitoid to control the populations of fruits flies in Cote d'Ivoire. (Resume d'auteur)

Abstract: The true fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) include about 4,500 species, of which 70 species are economically important as horticultural pests (White and Elson-Harris, 1992). Commerce of fruits to and from India is often afflicted with quarantine problems due to fruit flies. Tephritid identification is a serious challenge because adults may not be available during quarantine. Though it has been observed that eggs are of taxonomic value, the available information is scanty. Whenever quarantine interception is in the form of eggs or other immature stages, the diagnosis is difficult. Hence to facilitate quarantine interceptions and other sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, efforts were made to explore the egg stages using simple microscopic techniques. Variations documented in the chorionic microsculpturing and morphometrics of the four most common tephritid species intercepted in Indian quarantine, namely Bactrocera cucurbitae, B. dorsalis, B. tau and B. zonata, are presented herein. Although extensive studies of insect eggs’ morphology have been published (Hinton 1981), very little information is available on their chorionic microsculpturing. Although chorionic microsculpturing is an emerging taxonomic character in a few groups of Diptera (Placher 1981, Candan et al., 2004 and Sukontason 2007), there are very few studies on fruit flies using simple microscopic techniques. Margaritis (1985) studied chorionic microsculpturing of Ceratitis capitata and Dacus oleae. Additionally, Emmart (1933), Lawrence (1979), Norrbom (1985), as well as Selivon and Perondini (1999) have studied Anastrepha. Bactrocera cucurbitae, B. dorsalis, B. tau, and B. zonata were reared under laboratory conditions. Samples of eggs were collected immediately upon oviposition. Thirty eggs were randomly selected from those laid by each of the 30 randomly selected females. These were dissected in normal insect saline and temporary slides prepared in glycerol and observed with a compound microscope at 200x. On each egg, 30 randomly selected polygons were measured on the inner aspect of chorion. Measurements were taken at the longest distance point as regards their longitudinal and transverse dimensions in each case and these statistically analyzed through two way ANOVA. All measurements are given in micrometers, μ. Volume 121, Number 1, January and February 2010 91

Abstract: Tephritid fruit flies are recognized worldwide as the most important threat to horticulture (Allwood and Drew, 1997; Barnes, 2004; Ekesi and Billah, 2007). Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is the aboriginal home to 915 fruit fly species from 148 genera, out of which 299 species develop in either wild or cultivated fruit. They belong mainly to four genera: Bactrocera, Ceratitis, Dacus, and Trirhithrum (White and Elson-Harris, 1992). Most of the fruit fly species are highly polyphagous attacking several important fruits and vegetables including mango, citrus, guava, avocado, tomatoes, pepper, cucurbits etc. Female fruit flies that lay eggs under the skin of fruits and vegetables cause direct losses. The eggs hatch into larvae that feed in the decaying flesh of the crop. Infested fruits and vegetables quickly rot and become inedible or drop to the ground. Beside the direct damage to fruits, indirect losses is associated with quarantine restrictions because infestation and sometimes mere presence of the flies in a particular country could also restrict the free trade and export of fresh horticultural produce to large lucrative markets abroad. The introduction of uniform and strict Maximum Residue Levels (MRL) across Europe compounds the problem and further jeopardizes export. Of greater concern is the fact that even in countries where fruit fly management methods are undertaken, rejection by European markets is on the increase largely because with global trade and passenger trafficking, they are easily translocated and the risk of majority of African fruit flies as key and potential quarantine pests is becoming increasingly realized (OleMoiYoi and Lux, 2004). Although fruit flies attack a variety of horticultural crops in SSA, most of the fruit fly R&D in SSA has concentrated largely on mango infesting species largely because of the recognition of this crop as an important source of food and nutritional security. Globally, mango is the second most internationally traded crop after pineapple providing much needed income to poor rural households and the national economy. In Africa, assessments by the icipe-led African Fruit Fly program (AFFP) has revealed that out of the 1.9 million tons of mangoes produced annually across Africa about 40% is lost to fruit fly infestation (Lux et al., 2003). Majority of fruit fly species in Africa are little known but rank high on quarantine list worldwide. Some of the most important species attacking mango include the