Explore the vast range of titles available.

The peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Tephritidae), is economically relevant as a highly polyphagous pest infesting over 50 host plants including commercial fruit and horticultural crops. As an invasive species, B. zonata was firmly established in Egypt and holds potential to spread further across the Mediterranean basin. The present study demonstrated that the peach fruit fly was found multiplying in olive orchards at two distant locations in Egypt. This is the first report of B. zonata developing in olives. COI barcoding has revealed evidence for high diversity across these peach fruit fly populations. These data are consistent with multiple rather than a single event leading to both peach fruit fly invasion to Egypt and its adaptation to olive. Comparative microbiomics data for B. zonata developing on different host plants were indicative for microbiome dynamics being involved in the adaptation to olive as a new niche with a potential adaptive role for Erwinia or Providencia bacteria. The possibility of symbiont transfer from the olive fruit fly to the peach fruit fly is discussed. Potentially host switch relevant bacterial symbionts might be preferred targets of symbiosis disruption strategies for integrated pest management or biological control of B. zonata.

Emerging pests are increasingly threatening fruit orchard health across the Mediterranean area. Tephritidae, representing serious threats for Europe, are numerous, and the fruit flies Bactrocera zonata and those belonging to Bactrocera dorsalis complex are among the most alarming species. These species are highly polyphagous and B. zonata has already spread to some Mediterranean countries. Due to these ongoing threats, in the Campania Region (southern Italy), a survey with traps and infested fruits analysis was performed with the aim of detecting the presence of species of Bactrocera dorsalis complex. In two mixed fruit-trees fields, some adults belonging to a species of Bactrocera were captured in traps baited with the highly attractive male lure (methyl eugenol). They were distinguished from similar-looking Bactrocera spp. by morphological and molecular comparative analyses. Considering the existing morphological keys, specimens were tentatively identified as B. dorsalis but molecular characterization with COI split them into two clades. Some specimens were grouped with B. dorsalis similar to B. kandiensis and B. kandiensis and others in a clade including B. dorsalis and B. invadens (syn. B. dorsalis). ITS1 sequences instead confirmed morphological identification. The integrative approach allowed identifying all the specimens collected as belonging to the B. dorsalis complex. This finding represents the first field interception in Europe of a member of one of the most dangerous groups of fruit flies.

Aim In a context of successive fruit fly invasions (Tephritidae), this study investigated how the top invader, Bactrocera dorsalis, displaced established fruit fly populations. We focused, particularly, on how this invasion impacted the host range and climatic niche of each resident species. Location La Réunion, France, Indian Ocean. Methods We collected fruit from more than 100 plant species across the island, in cultivated and non‐cultivated areas at different altitudes in order to monitor the emergence of fruit flies. Fruit collection was conducted over two field campaigns: from 2001 to 2009, before the B. dorsalis invasion; and from 2018 to 2019, after the B. dorsalis invasion. We compared the distribution and host range of fruit fly species for the two periods. Results Our results confirmed the generalist character of B. dorsalis, with the infestation of 52 out of 112 of the fruit species collected in the field. After the B. dorsalis invasion, we observed a shift in the host range and spatial distribution of established tephritids. The host range of specialist species that only share a few host species with B. dorsalis did not change significantly. On the contrary, we observed a significant shift in diversity or proportion of host range and climatic niches for the generalist species, such as Bactrocera zonata, Ceratitis quilicii and Ceratitis capitata. Main conclusions We provide evidence of the competitive displacement induced by B. dorsalis on other established species. The coexistence between B. dorsalis and generalist Ceratitis species seems possible because they have different responses to climatic conditions or the capacity to exploit other host fruit species. In contrast, the coexistence of B. zonata with B. dorsalis seems to be compromised because both species have similar ecological requirements. This research provides useful information for managing invasions, particularly since understanding competitive displacements is essential for the identification of empty niches and for modelling potential species distribution.

Bactrocera latifrons is a serious pest of solanaceous fruits and Bactrocera umbrosa is a pest of Artocarpus fruits, while Bactrocera melastomatos infests the fruit of Melastomataceae. They are members of the subgenus Bactrocera. We report here the complete mitochondrial genome of these fruit flies determined by next-generation sequencing and their phylogeny with other taxa of the subgenus Bactrocera. The whole mitogenomes of these three species possessed 37 genes namely, 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA and 22 tRNA genes. The mitogenome of B. latifrons (15,977 bp) was longer than those of B. melastomatos (15,954 bp) and B. umbrosa (15,898 bp). This difference can be attributed to the size of the intergenic spacers (283 bp in B. latifrons, 261 bp in B. melastomatos, and 211 bp in B. umbrosa). Most of the PCGs in the three species have an identical start codon, except for atp8 (adenosine triphosphate synthase protein 8), which had an ATG instead of GTG in B. umbrosa, whilst the nad3 (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3) and nad6 (NADH dehydrogenase subunit 6) genes were characterized by an ATC instead of ATT in B. melastomatos. The three species had identical stop codon for the respective PCGs. In B. latifrons and B. melastomatos, the TΨC (thymidine-pseudouridine-cytidine)-loop was absent in trnF (phenylalanine) and DHU (dihydrouracil)-loop was absent in trnS1 (serine S1). In B. umbrosa, trnN (asparagine), trnC (cysteine) and trnF lacked the TψC-loop, while trnS1 lacked the DHU-stem. Molecular phylogeny based on 13 PCGs was in general concordant with 15 mitochondrial genes (13 PCGs and 2 rRNA genes), with B. latifrons and B. umbrosa forming a sister group basal to the other species of the subgenus Bactrocera which was monophyletic. The whole mitogenomes will serve as a useful dataset for studying the genetics, systematics and phylogenetic relationships of the many species of Bactrocera genus in particular, and tephritid fruit flies in general.

Distance decay principles predict that species with larger geographic ranges would have greater intraspecific genetic diversity than more restricted species. However, invasive pest species may not follow this prediction, with confounding implications for tracking phenomena including original ranges, invasion pathways and source populations. We sequenced an 815 base-pair section of the COI gene for 441 specimens of Bactrocera correcta , 214 B. zonata and 372 Zeugodacus cucurbitae ; three invasive pest fruit fly species with overlapping hostplants. For each species, we explored how many individuals would need to be included in a study to sample the majority of their haplotype diversity. We also tested for phylogeographic signal and used demographic estimators as a proxy for invasion potency. We find contrasting patterns of haplotype diversity amongst the species, where B. zonata has the highest diversity but most haplotypes were represented by singletons; B. correcta has ~7 dominant haplotypes more evenly distributed; Z. cucurbitae has a single dominant haplotype with closely related singletons in a ‘star-shape’ surrounding it. We discuss how these differing patterns relate to their invasion histories. None of the species showed meaningful phylogeographic patterns, possibly due to gene-flow between areas across their distributions, obscuring or eliminating substructure.

Tephritid fruit flies are ranked as one of the most damaging groups of insect pests. Morphological identification of fruit flies is mainly performed on adults due to the lack of adequate identification keys for immature stages. The peach fruit fly, Bactrocera zonata (Saunders), infests some of the principal commercial fruits and vegetables. It is, therefore important to avert its global dispersal, particularly by accurately identifying this species at ports of entry. In this study, a TaqMan real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was developed for the accurate identification and sensitive detection of the peach fruit fly. A novel set of primers and probe were designed to specifically identify the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. All specimens of peach fruit fly (including various life stages) were detected, and no cross reactivity with other tested tephritids were observed. Since this assay performed equally well with crushed insects and purified DNA, we note added efficiency by eliminating DNA extraction step. Considering the speed, specificity as well as sensitivity of the assay, Taqman real-time PCR can be used as a swift and specific method for pest species at ports of entry.

Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) is a major pest that affects a variety of fruits and vegetables globally, including in Pakistan. This pest causes significant economic damage to the fruit and vegetable industry, mainly due to strict quarantine regulations imposed by importing countries to prevent its spread. The present study examined the host preferences of 6. zonata for various fruits (Prunus armeniaca, Prunus domestica, Prunus persica, Cucumis melo, Citrullus lanatus, Prunus avium, Ziziphus jujube) and vegetables (Momordica caranthia, Beta vulgaris, Daucuscarota, Solanumlycopersicum, Cucumis sativus, Solanum melongena, Cucurbita pepo) under field and laboratory conditions. The study found that apricot (Prunus armeniaca) was the most preferred fruit, while jujube (Ziziphus jujuba) was the least preferred. For vegetables, bitter melon (Momordica charantia) was favored by B. zonata, while pumpkin (Cucurbita pepo) was the least selected. The research indicated that fruit flies can adapt their host preferences based on availability host plants. This behavior may significantly impact the yields of fruit-bearing plants.

Timely detection of an invasion event, or a pest outbreak, is an extremely challenging operation of major importance for implementing management action toward eradication and/or containment. Fruit flies—FF—(Diptera: Tephritidae) comprise important invasive and quarantine species that threaten the world fruit and vegetables production. The current manuscript introduces a recently developed McPhail-type electronic trap (e-trap) and provides data on its field performance to surveil three major invasive FF ( Ceratitis capitata , Bactrocera dorsalis and B. zonata ). Using FF male lures, the e-trap attracts the flies and retains them on a sticky surface placed in the internal part of the trap. The e-trap captures frames of the trapped adults and automatically uploads the images to the remote server for identification conducted on a novel algorithm involving deep learning. Both the e-trap and the developed code were tested in the field in Greece, Austria, Italy, South Africa and Israel. The FF classification code was initially trained using a machine-learning algorithm and FF images derived from laboratory colonies of two of the species ( C. capitata and B. zonata ). Field tests were then conducted to investigate the electronic, communication and attractive performance of the e-trap, and the model accuracy to classify FFs. Our results demonstrated a relatively good communication, electronic performance and trapping efficacy of the e-trap. The classification model provided average precision results (93–95%) for the three target FFs from images uploaded remotely from e-traps deployed in field conditions. The developed and field tested e-trap system complies with the suggested attributes required for an advanced camera-based smart-trap.

Background Various endosymbiotic bacteria, including Wolbachia of the Alphaproteobacteria, infect a wide range of insects and are capable of inducing reproductive abnormalities to their hosts such as cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI), parthenogenesis, feminization and male-killing. These extended phenotypes can be potentially exploited in enhancing environmentally friendly methods, such as the sterile insect technique (SIT), for controlling natural populations of agricultural pests. The goal of the present study is to investigate the presence of Wolbachia , Spiroplasma , Arsenophonus and Cardinium among Bactrocera , Dacus and Zeugodacus flies of Southeast Asian populations, and to genotype any detected Wolbachia strains. Results A specific 16S rRNA PCR assay was used to investigate the presence of reproductive parasites in natural populations of nine different tephritid species originating from three Asian countries, Bangladesh, China and India. Wolbachia infections were identified in Bactrocera dorsalis , B. correcta , B. scutellaris and B. zonata , with 12.2–42.9% occurrence, Entomoplasmatales in B. dorsalis , B. correcta , B. scutellaris , B. zonata , Zeugodacus cucurbitae and Z. tau (0.8–14.3%) and Cardinium in B. dorsalis and Z. tau (0.9–5.8%), while none of the species tested, harbored infections with Arsenophonus . Infected populations showed a medium (between 10 and 90%) or low (< 10%) prevalence, ranging from 3 to 80% for Wolbachia , 2 to 33% for Entomoplasmatales and 5 to 45% for Cardinium . Wolbachia and Entomoplasmatales infections were found both in tropical and subtropical populations, the former mostly in India and the latter in various regions of India and Bangladesh. Cardinium infections were identified in both countries but only in subtropical populations. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of Wolbachia with some strains belonging either to supergroup B or supergroup A. Sequence analysis revealed deletions of variable length and nucleotide variation in three Wolbachia genes. Spiroplasma strains were characterized as citri–chrysopicola–mirum and ixodetis strains while the remaining Entomoplasmatales to the Mycoides–Entomoplasmataceae clade. Cardinium strains were characterized as group A, similar to strains infecting Encarsia pergandiella . Conclusions Our results indicated that in the Southeast natural populations examined, supergroup A Wolbachia strain infections were the most common, followed by Entomoplasmatales and Cardinium . In terms of diversity, most strains of each bacterial genus detected clustered in a common group. Interestingly, the deletions detected in three Wolbachia genes were either new or similar to those of previously identified pseudogenes that were integrated in the host genome indicating putative horizontal gene transfer events in B. dorsalis , B. correcta and B. zonata .

This study investigated spatio-temporal fluctuations and population dynamics of Bactrocera fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, in relation to selected climatic variables. Additionally, infestation rate of Bactrocera species and trapping efficiency of different trap types and characteristics were explored. Fruit flies were collected from 14 selected localities of 9 districts in 4 agro-ecological zones of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa using pheromone traps (methyl eugenol and raspberry extract), food-baited traps, and from rearing of infested fruits. A total of 12,058 fruit flies belonging to nine species: Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), Bactrocera zonata (Saunders), Bactrocera correcta (Bezzi), Bactrocera signata (Hering), Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett), Bactrocera tau (Walker), Bactrocera zahadi (Mahmood), Bactrocera scutellaris (Bezzi), and Bactrocera nigrofemoralis (White and Tsuruta) (all Diptera: Tephritidae) were collected. The first 3 species were categorized as dominant. Highest flies per trap per d was recorded from district Kohat (Zone-D) while the lowest was in Nowshera (Zone-C). Havelian, district Abbottabad (Zone-B), was the most diverse locality. Fruit fly population peaked in May and were at a minimum in Dec. There was a significant positive correlation between rainfall and Bactrocera species abundance, and a negative association between relative humidity and population abundance. Highest flies per trap per d were recorded at elevations ranging from 285 to 855 masl in semi-arid and cool zones, in sub-humid zones of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and in rangelands south of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Fruit flies showed host specificity with respect to certain plant families. Methyl eugenol-raspberry extract traps and food-baited traps displayed species-specific trapping patterns. South-facing and green or yellow colored traps were the most attractive. Numbers of Bactrocera were higher in methyl eugenol-raspberry extract mixture traps compared to other pheromone trap combinations. In food-baited trials, peach and guava-baited traps attracted the highest number of Bactrocera flies. Adding sugar and yeast increased trapping efficiency. Este estudio investigó las fluctuaciones espacio-temporales y la dinámica poblacional de las moscas de la fruta del género Bactrocera (Diptera: Tephritidae) en Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistán, en relación con las variables climáticas seleccionadas. Además, se exploró la tasa de infestación de especies de Bactrocera y la eficiencia de captura de diferentes tipos y características de trampas. Se recolectaron moscas de la fruta en 14 localidades seleccionadas de 9 distritos en 4 zonas agroecológicas de Khyber Pakhtunkhwa utilizando trampas de feromonas (metil eugenol y extracto de frambuesa), trampas con cebo alimentario y cría de frutas infestadas. Un total de 12.058 moscas de la fruta pertenecientes a nueve especies: Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), Bactrocera zonata (Saunders), Bactrocera correcta (Bezzi), Bactrocera signata (Hering), Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett), Bactrocera tau (Walker), Bactrocera zahadi (Mahmood), Bactrocera scutellaris (Bezzi), y Bactrocera nigrofemoralis (White and Tsuruta) (todas Diptera: Tephritidae) fueron colectados. Las primeras 3 especies fueron categorizadas como dominantes. Se registró la mayor cantidad de moscas por trampa por día en el distrito de Kohat (Zona-D), mientras que la menor fue en Nowshera (Zona-C). Havelian, distrito de Abbottabad (Zona-B), fue la localidad más diversa. La población de moscas de la fruta alcanzó su punto máximo en mayo y alcanzó un mínimo en diciembre. Hubo una correlación positiva significativa entre la lluvia y la abundancia de especies de Bactrocera, y una asociación negativa entre la humedad relativa y la abundancia de la población. La mayor cantidad de moscas por trampa por día se registró en elevaciones que oscilan entre 285 y 855 msnm en zonas semiáridas y frías, en zonas subhúmedas de Khyber Pakhtunkhwa y en pastizales al sur de Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Las moscas de la fruta mostraron especificidad de hospedero con respecto a ciertas familias de plantas. Las trampas con extracto de frambuesa y eugenol de metilo y las trampas cebadas con alimentos mostraron patrones de captura específicos de la especie. Las trampas orientadas al sur y de color verde o amarillo fueron las más atractivas. El número de Bactrocera fue mayor en las trampas de mezcla de metil eugenol y extracto de frambuesa en comparación con otras combinaciones de trampas de feromonas. En los ensayos con cebo alimentario, las trampas cebadas con durazno y guayaba atrajeron la mayor cantidad de moscas Bactrocera. La adición de azúcar y levadura aumentó la eficiencia de captura.