olive fruit fly - Bactrocera oleae
http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/fruit/tropica...
common name: olive fruit fly
scientific name: Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (Insecta: Diptera:
Tephritidae)
Introduction - Distribution - Identification - Life History and Habits Hosts - Management Procedures - Selected References
Introduction
Th e olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi) (formerly Dacus oleae), is a serious pest
of olives in most of th e coun tries aroun d th e Mediterran ean sea. Th e larvae are
mon oph agous, an d feed exclusively on olive fruits. Adults feed on n ectar, h on ey dew,
an d oth er opportun istic sources of liquid or semi-liquid food. Th e damage caused by
tun n elin g of larvae in th e fruit results in about 30 percen t loss of th e olive crop in
Mediterran ean coun tries, an d especially in Greece an d Italy wh ere large commercial
production occurs.
Th e olive fruit fly is gen erally a serious pest of cultivated olives th rough out its ran ge.
It was detected in Californ ia in October, 1998 in th e Los An geles area, an d spread to
th e rest of south er n Californ ia (1999), th e Cen tral Valley (2000) an d to Marin ,
Napa, Son oma, Solan o (2001), Sh asta, El Dorado an d Lak e (2002) coun ties (Varela
an d Vossen 2003). It is n ow foun d in all olive growin g ar eas of th e state (Zalom, Van
Steen wyk , Burrack an d Joh n son 2009).
Olives are grown commercially in Californ ia, for th e fruit, on a limited scale an d are
grown also as orn amen tals. In Florida, olive trees are slow-growin g evergreen s th at
may be grown as orn amen tals, but h ave n o commercial application in relation to th e
fruit. Use of olive trees as orn amen tals is in creasin g in Florida, an d fruit from th ese
trees probably could support olive fruit fly developmen t. T h us, state an d federal
regulatory agen cies sh ould con tin ue to main tain vigilan ce again st in troduction of
th e olive fruit fly. Larvae an d pupae are in tercepted frequen tly in olives from th e
Mediterran ean region , an d occasion ally adults h ave been tak en alon g with larvae
an d pupae.
Distribution
Mediterran ean basin , n orth ern , eastern an d south ern Africa, Can ary Islan ds, In dia,
western Asia, an d apparen tly wh erever olives (th e gen us Olea) occur in th e Eastern
Hemisph ere.
In th e Western Hemisph ere, it is curren tly restricted to Californ ia, an d Baja
Californ ia, Mexico (Rice 2000).
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olive fruit fly - Bactrocera oleae
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Identification
Immature stages ar e similar in appear an ce to th ose of oth er teph ritid fruit flies,
especially Bactrocera spp. Ph illips gives a detailed, illustrated description of th e
larva.
3rd in star larva
Th e olive fruit fly is on e of th e smaller species in th e gen us. Th e adult female is
approximately 5 mm lon g, an d h as a win g expan se of approximately 10 mm. Th e
win gs are mostly tr an sparen t an d mark ed with brown , in cludin g a spot at th e win g
tips. Th e th orax is black , with a silvery pubescen ce dorsal surface stripped with
th ree n arrow parallel black lin es. Th e h umeri, or sh oulders, an d an area above an d
below th e base of th e win gs are yellow. Th e in n er portion of th e scutellum is black ,
an d th e posterior portion is yellow. Th e abdomen is black , covered with a scattered
gray pubescen ce. T h e basal segmen ts are mark ed with pale tran sverse ban ds an d an
irregular parallel bar or blotch of reddish -brown occupyin g th e cen ter of th e apical
segmen ts. Th e termin al segmen t is reddish -yellow. Th e sh eath of th e ovipositor is
black , with th e ovipositor reddish in color.
adult
adult female olive fruit fly
Life History and Habits
In th e Mediterran ean region , two to five gen eration s of flies occur yearly. T h e win ter
is spen t in th e pupal stage several cm below th e soil an d leaf litter, an d adult flies
emerge from March to May, depen din g upon th e latitude an d temperature. Un der
summer con dition s, a preoviposition period of six to ten days elapses before matin g,
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with lon ger time r equired earlier wh en temperatures ar e n ot as h igh . Durin g th e
preoviposition period th e female is maturin g th e ovary an d a first set of eggs.
Begin n in g in Jun e females actively seek an d oviposit in early maturin g olive fruits.
From 10 to 12 eggs may be laid daily, usually on e per olive fruit, an d about 200 to
250 are laid in a lifetime. Th e female pun ctures th e fruit with th e ovipositor an d
deposits an egg ben eath th e sk in .
In th e mild, coastal areas of Californ ia, th e adult flies are active all year. Eggs an d
maggots may be foun d all year in fruit left on th e groun d or on th e trees. In th e
in lan d areas of Californ ia, th e adult flies emerge from March th rough May an d
attack olives remain in g on trees from th e previous season . Durin g early summer
(Jun e) as temperatures an d day len gth in crease an d few mature fruit remain on
trees, female flies do n ot lay eggs. However, th e adults remain active an d may
disperse to oth er crops, such as citrus orch ards or vin eyards. As a n ew olive crop
develops (late Jun e to th e begin n in g of July), females are attracted to th e fr uit an d
begin to lay eggs. Eggs are laid just un der th e fruit’s sk in , often creatin g a dimple
or brown spot. Multiple gen eration s occur th rough out summer an d fall. (Zalom, Van
Steen wyk , Burrack an d Joh n son 2009)
Th e legless larva (maggot) feeds upon th e fruit tissue, causin g th e fruit to dr op off
th e tree. Th e egg, larval, an d pupal stages last 2 to 4, 10 to 14, an d about 10 days,
respectively, in summer in Y ugoslavia. Duration of th e life cycle varies from on e to six
or seven mon th s. Male flies produce an auditory stridulatory soun d or sign al durin g
courtsh ip. Courtsh ip an d matin g occur at dusk , n ear th e en d of th e dayligh t period.
Females of th e olive fruit fly produce a multicompon en t ph eromon e, an d are th e on ly
teph ritid females k n own to produce a sex ph eromon e. Males produce th e ph eromon e
in oth er teph ritids th at h ave been studied. Th e major compon en t of th e ph eromon e
is 1,7-dioxaspiro[5.5]un decan e an d it is a relatively lon g-ran ge attractan t for males.
Male flies also produce th is compoun d, an d attract males, but females are n ot
attracted to th e compoun d from eith er sex. Feral females lik ely mate sever al times
durin g th eir lifetime.
Hosts
Olives-Olea spp.
Management Procedures
In th e Eastern Hemisph ere, in secticides are used in bait-sprays or as sprays from th e
air to con trol th e olive fruit fly. More en viron men tally ben ign tech n iques th at are
bein g tested or used in limited areas are use of radiation sterilized males an d
ph eromon es. Both sexes can be sterilized with 8 to 12 k r ad (80 to 120 Gy radiation )
wh en late pupae are exposed to th e ir radiation . Syn th esis of 1,5,7trioxaspiro[5.5]un decan e, an an alog of th e major ph eromon e compon en t, h as been
syn th esized an d tested, an d un der optimal con dition s it was as attractive as th e
n atural compoun d, but it did n ot last as lon g in traps as th e n atural material. Small
plywood rectan gles dipped in 0.1% (a.i.) aqueous solution of deltameth rin for 15
min utes an d added to bait station s con tain in g eith er sex ph eromon e or ammon ium
bicarbon ate, a food attractan t, gave cost-effective con trol in a large test or ch ard.
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In Californ ia, man agemen t depen ds on bait sprays, trappin g of adult flies, h arvest
timin g, fruit san itation after h arvest, an d biological con trol (Van Steen wk y et al.
2003).
A recen t (2008) in troduction of a h ymen opteran parasitoid, Psyttalia cf. concolor,
from Ken ya h as raised h opes for effective biologicial con trol of th e olive fruit fly. Th e
wasp appears to be a more effective n atural en emy th an oth er olive fly par asitoids
brough t to Californ ia in th e early 2000s. Early results sh owed th at th e wasp's
parasitism rate was variable in some h ot, dry, in lan d gr oves, wh ere th e olive fruit fly
is sparse, but in a coastal orch ard h eavily in fested with th e flies, parasitism was very
h igh (Wood 2009).
Hymen opteran parasitoid
Selected References
Ch risten son LD. 1963. Tropical fruit-fly men ace. Publ. 4557 from th e
Smith son ian Report for 1962. p. 441-448.
Ch risten son LD, Foote RH. 1960. Biology of fruit flies. An n ual Review of
En tomology 5: 171-192.
Ebelin g WW. 1959. Subtropical Fruit Pests. Un iversity of Californ ia, Division of
Agricultural Scien ce. 436 p.
Econ omopoulos AP. 1972. Sexual competitiven ess of g-ray sterilized males of
Dacus oleae. Matin g frequen cy of artificially rear ed an d wild females.
En viron men tal En tomology 1: 490-497.
Econ omopoulos AP, Gian n ak ak is A, T zan ak ak is ME, Voyadjoglou AV. 1971.
Reproductive beh avior an d ph ysiology of th e olive fruit fly. 1. An atomy of th e
adult rectum an d odors emitted by adults. An n als of th e En tomological Society
of America 64: 1112-1116.
Froggatt WW. 1909. Report on parasitic an d in jurious in sects. 1907-1908. New
South Wales Depar tmen t of Agriculture. 115 p.
Han iotak is GE, Kozyrak is K, Bon atsos C. 1986. Con trol of th e olive fruit fly,
Dacus oleae Gmel. (Diptera, Teph ritidae) by mass trappin g: Pilot scale
feasibility study. Journ al of Applied En tomology 101: 343-352.
Han iotak is GE, Mavragan is VG, Ragoussis V. 1989. 1,5,7Trioxaspiro[5.5]un decan e, a ph eromon e an alog with h igh biological activity for
th e olive fruit fly, Dacus oleae. Journ al of Ch emical Ecology 15: 1057-1065.
Hen del F. 1927. Tr ypetidae. Stuttgart: E. Sch weizerbart'sch e
Verlagsbuch h an dlun g. 221 p.
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olive fruit fly - Bactrocera oleae
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Mazomen os BA. 1983. Biosyn th esis of a Sex Ph eromon e of th e Olive Fruit Fly
Dacus oleae Gmel. Ph D Dissertation . Rijk sun iversiteit Gen t, Th e Neth erlan ds.
137 p.
Oak ley RG. 1950, Jan uary 30. Fruit flies (Teph ritidae). Man ual of foreign plan t
pests for fruit flies, Part 3. p. 167-246. (un publish ed)
Ph illips VT. 1946. T h e biology an d iden tification of trypetid larvae (Diptera:
Trypetidae). Memoirs of th e American En tomological Society 12: 1-161.
Rice R. (July 2000). Bion omics of th e olive fruit fly, Bactrocera (Dacus) olea.
University of California Plant Protection Quarterly. pp 1-5. h ttp://www.uck ac.edu
/ppq/PDF/00July.pdf (27 July 2009).
Varela L, Vossen P. (May 2003). Olive fruit fly. Un iversity of Californ ia
Cooperative Exten sion - Son oma Coun ty. h ttp://ceson oma.ucdavis.edu/HORTIC
/olive_fly/olive_fruit_fly.pdf (6 Jun e 2003).
Wood M. (February 2009). Can small foe foil olive fruit fly? USDA News &
Events. h ttp://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/arch ive/feb09/olive0209.h tm (10 March
2009).
Zalom FG, Vossen PM, Van Steen wyk RA. (Jan uary 2009). Olive fruit fly.
Un iversity of Californ ia Pest Man agemen t Guidelin es.
h ttp://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/r583301311.h tml (9 March 2009).
Zalom FG, Van Steen wyk RA, Burrack HJ, Joh n son MW. (February 2009). Olive
fruit fly. Un iversity of Californ ia Pests in Garden s an d Lan dscapes.
h ttp://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PEST NOTES/pn 74112.h tml (9 March 2009).
Auth or: H.V. Weems (retired), Florida Departmen t of Agriculture an d Con sumer
Services, Division of Plan t In dustry, an d James L. Nation , Un iversity of Flor ida.
Origin ally publish ed as DPI En tomology Circular 44.
Ph otograph s: Peggy Greb, USDA; Natash a Wrigh t, Florida Departmen t of
Agriculture an d Con sumer Services, www.forestryimages.org; Gian carlo Dessì, Istituto
Profession ale Statale per l'Agricoltura e l'Ambien te "Cettolin i" di Cagliari
Drawin g: Division of Plan t In dustry
Project Coordin ator: Th omas R. Fasulo, Un iversity of Flor ida
Publication Number: EENY -113
Publication Date: September 1999. Latest revision : July 2009
Copyrigh t 1999-2009 Un iversity of Florida
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