Ecological Aspects of Bactrocera latifrons (Diptera: Tephritidae) on Maui, Hawaii: Movement and host preference

Abstract

Bactrocera latifrons is a tephritid fruit fly that invaded the Hawaiian Islands in 1983 and has since spread throughout the island chain. Its invasion was facilitated by the invasion of two previous nonendemic species of solanaceous plants: Solanum torvum and Solanum linnaeanum. This study explored three aspects of B. latirfrons biology: (1) the short-term temporal patterns of wild flies were examined in invasive populations of S. torvum; (2) B. latifrons' host preference for two principal wild hosts, S. torvum and S. linnaeanum; and (3) the movement of B. latifrons among host patches of established populations of S. torvum in Iao Valley, Maui, HI. For the third objective, we conducted a mark-release-recapture study using flies dyed with a phosphorescing marker and flies marked with a vertebrate protein. The laboratory studies suggest the flies prefer ovipositing in S. linnaeanum to S. torvum and that survival in S. linnaeanum is higher than in S. torvum. Trap catches in the dispersal study did not exceed 200 m during the 6-wk course of the study, suggesting that dispersal rates are similar to those seen in other tephritid fruit fly species.