Insect Pests of Fruit, Plantation, Medicinal & Aromatic Crops (2+1)

5. Fruit fly - Bactrocera zonatus Saund. ( Tephritidae : Diptera )

Damage

• The maggot feeds on the fruits causing rotting and dropping of fruits.
Bionomics

• The adult fly is small, reddish brown with yellowish cross band on the abdomen.
• It inserts white cylindrical eggs on the fruits in group of 2-9.
• The fecundity of the fly is 137 eggs / female.
• The eggs are covered by resinous secretion.
• The egg period is 2-4 days.
• The maggot is dirty white, acephalic and apodous measuring 1 cm in length.
• The larval period is 4-16 days.
• The maggot crawls out of fruits and pupates in the soil.
• The pupal stage over winters in cold months.
• The pupal period last for 7 days.