Journal of Economic Entomology (2011) 104, 571-573

Peter A. Follett and Francis T. Zee (2011)
Host status of Vaccinium reticulatum (Ericaceae) to invasive tephritid fruit flies in Hawaii
Journal of Economic Entomology 104 (2), 571-573
Abstract: Ohelo (Vaccicinium reticulatum Small) (Ericaceae) is a native Hawaiian plant that has commercial potential in Hawaii as a nursery crop to be transplanted for berry production or for sale as a potted ornamental. No-choice infestation studies were conducted to determine whether ohelo fruit are hosts for four invasive tephritid fruit fly species. Ohelo berries were exposed to gravid female flies of Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel (oriental fruit fly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Mediterranean fruit fly), Bactrocera cucurbitae Coquillet (melon fly), or Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) in screen cages outdoors for 24 h and then held on sand in the laboratory for 2 wk for pupal development and adult emergence. Only B. dorsalis successfully attacked and developed in ohelo berries. In total, 1,570 berries produced 10 puparia, all of which emerged as adults, for a fruit infestation rate of 0.0064% and an average of 0.0053 puparia per gram of fruit. By comparison, papaya fruit used as controls produced an average of 1.44 B. dorsalis puparia per g of fruit. Ohelo berry is a marginal host for B. dorsalis and apparently a nonhost for C. capitata, B. cucurbitae, and B. latifrons. Commercial plantings of ohelo will rarely be attacked by fruit flies in Hawaii.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Peter A. Follett

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Bactrocera dorsalis	Blueberry/cranberry (Vaccinium)	U.S.A. (Hawaii)