Insect Pests of Vegetable, Tuber and Spice Crops

Fruit flies

4. Fruit flies, Bactrocera tau (Tephritidae: Diptera)

Damage: Damage is caused by larvae which feed inside the fruit on fruit pulp and the fruit is rendered unfit for human consumption

Identification:

• Adults are light brown with lemon yellow curved vertical markings across the thorax
• On the apical margin of the forewing, grayish brown patches are present.
• Larvae are pale or reddish white which tapers anteriorly.
• The pupa is barrel shaped with dull to reddish yellow in colour.

Life cycle:

• Each female can lay 60 to 100 eggs.
• Eggs hatch in 1 to 4 days
• Maggots become fullfed in 4 to 7 days.
• Pupal period lasts for 7 to 13 days.

Salient features:

• Lay eggs inside the fruit.
• Larvae feed on pulp
• Full grown larvae come out of the fruit and pupate in soil
• Adults require proteins for their ovaries to mature

Management:

• Collect and destroy the fallen infested fruits regularly on campaign bases
• Frequently rake the soil to expose pupae.
• Apply poison baits (40 ml malathion + 200g gur / molasses per 20L of water) in the form of spray or bait stations.
• Mass trapping of adults using cue lure
• Larval parasitoid, Biosteres dacusii also attack the pest in nature