General Information
Peach Fruit Fly Pest Profile
Common Name:
Peach Fruit FlyScientific Name:
Order and Family:
Description:
The adult fly is approximately 6 mm long and reddish-brown with yellowish thoracic markings. The transparent wings have a small brown spot on each tip. The white eggs are 1.1 mm long and 0.2 mm wide. The larva of the peach fruit fly is a creamy-white, legless maggot which grows to a length of seven to 10 mm within the fruit. The larva doubles over and jumps about when disturbed. The pupa is encased in a dark-brown cylindrical puparium about 5.0 mm long.
History and Economic Importance:
Bactrocera zonata is known in India and Southeast Asia as a serious pest of tropical and subtropical fruits. It is one of the three most destructive flies in India, causing crop losses of 25 to 100 percent in peach, apricot, guava and figs. In recent years, it has increased its host range, especially on fruit.
Distribution:
Bactrocera zonata is found in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Mauritius, Reunion Island, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and possibly Indonesia (Sumatra).
Life Cycle:
Bactrocera zonata is a strong flier capable of dispersing more than 15 miles in its search for host plants. It is active throughout the year when temperatures exceed 50° F. Adults appear in early spring, feeding on nectar, plant sap, and decaying fruit. The preoviposition period (including sexual maturation of eight to 16 days) is 10 to 23 days. The female lays an average of 137 eggs in batches of two to nine under the rind of the host fruit. A female can lay up to 93 eggs in one day, and as many as 564 in its lifetime. Under favorable conditions, the eggs hatch into larvae within two days. The larvae feed in the fruit for four to 21 days depending upon temperature. They burrow one to six inches in the ground to pupate. The pupal period varies from four days in summer to over six weeks in winter. It can apparently survive winters in temperate climates. There are several generations a year if conditions are favorable.
Hosts and Damage:
Bactrocera zonata attacks early fruit such as jujube, loquat, peach, and then moves to cucurbits, mango, citrus, guava, pomegranate and sapodilla for the rest of the year. The larvae will normally destroy the interior of the fruit as they feed on the pulp. Conspicuous, unsightly holes are made when the larvae exit for pupation. Damage to the fruit is similar to that caused by the Mediterranean fruit fly and the Melon fly. It has been reared from 33 fruits, a number of which are important commercial crops. It lowers the yield and quality of such fruits as mango, guava, citrus, eggplant, tomato, apple, peach and loquat.