The utility of microsatellite DNA markers for the evaluation of area-wide integrated pest management using SIT for the fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), control programs in Thailand.

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), is a key pest that causes reduction of the crop yield within the international fruit market. Fruit flies have been suppressed by two Area-Wide Integrated Pest Management programs in Thailand using Sterile Insect Technique (AW-IPM-SIT) since the late 1980s and the early 2000s. The projects' planning and evaluation usually rely on information from pest status, distribution, and fruit infestation. However, the collected data sometimes does not provide enough detail to answer management queries and public concerns, such as the long term sterilization efficacy of the released fruit fly, skepticism about insect migration or gene flow across the buffer zone, and the re-colonisation possibility of the fruit fly population within the core area. Established microsatellite DNA markers were used to generate population genetic data for the analysis of the fruit fly sampling from several control areas, and non-target areas, as well as the mass-rearing facility. The results suggested limited gene flow (m < 0.100) across the buffer zones between the flies in the control areas and flies captured outside. In addition, no genetic admixture was revealed from the mass-reared colony flies from the flies within the control area, which supports the effectiveness of SIT. The control pests were suppressed to low density and showed weak bottleneck footprints although they still acquired a high degree of genetic variation. Potential pest resurgence from fragmented micro-habitats in mixed fruit orchards rather than pest incursion across the buffer zone has been proposed. Therefore, a suitable pest control effort, such as the SIT program, should concentrate on the hidden refuges within the target area

Synonymization of key pest species within the Bactrocera dorsalis species complex (Diptera: Tephritidae): taxonomic changes based on a review of 20 years of integrative morphological, molecular, cytogenetic, behavioural and chemoecological data

© 2014 The Royal Entomological Society. Bactrocera papayae Drew & Hancock, Bactrocera philippinensis Drew & Hancock, Bactrocera carambolae Drew & Hancock, and Bactrocera invadens Drew, Tsuruta & White are four horticultural pest tephritid fruit fly species that are highly similar, morphologically and genetically, to the destructive pest, the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae). This similarity has rendered the discovery of reliable diagnostic characters problematic, which, in view of the economic importance of these taxa and the international trade implications, has resulted in ongoing difficulties for many areas of plant protection and food security. Consequently, a major international collaborative and integrated multidisciplinary research effort was initiated in 2009 to build upon existing literature with the specific aim of resolving biological species limits among B. papayae, B. philippinensis, B. carambolae, B. invadens and B. dorsalis to overcome constraints to pest management and international trade. Bactrocera philippinensis has recently been synonymized with B. papayae as a result of this initiative and this review corroborates that finding; however, the other names remain in use. While consistent characters have been found to reliably distinguish B. carambolae from B. dorsalis, B. invadens and B. papayae, no such characters have been found to differentiate the latter three putative species. We conclude that B. carambolae is a valid species and that the remaining taxa, B. dorsalis, B. invadens and B. papayae, represent the same species. Thus, we consider B. dorsalis (Hendel) as the senior synonym of B. papayae Drew and Hancock syn.n. and B. invadens Drew, Tsuruta & White syn.n. A redescription of B. dorsalis is provided. Given the agricultural importance of B. dorsalis, this taxonomic decision will have significant global plant biosecurity implications, affecting pest management, quarantine, international trade, postharvest treatment and basic research. Throughout the paper, we emphasize the value of independent and multidisciplinary tools in delimiting species, particularly in complicated cases involving morphologically cryptic taxa

Synonymization of key pest species within the Bactrocera dorsalis species complex (Diptera: Tephritidae): Taxonomic changes based on a review of 20 years of integrative morphological, molecular, cytogenetic, behavioural and chemoecological data

Bactrocera papayae Drew & Hancock, Bactrocera philippinensis Drew & Hancock, Bactrocera carambolae Drew & Hancock, and Bactrocera invadens Drew, Tsuruta & White are four horticultural pest tephritid fruit fly species that are highly similar, morphologically and genetically, to the destructive pest, the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae). This similarity has rendered the discovery of reliable diagnostic characters problematic, which, in view of the economic importance of these taxa and the international trade implications, has resulted in ongoing difficulties for many areas of plant protection and food security. Consequently, a major international collaborative and integrated multidisciplinary research effort was initiated in 2009 to build upon existing literature with the specific aim of resolving biological species limits among B. papayae, B. philippinensis, B. carambolae, B. invadens and B. dorsalis to overcome constraints to pest management and international trade. Bactrocera philippinensis has recently been synonymized with B. papayae as a result of this initiative and this review corroborates that finding; however, the other names remain in use. While consistent characters have been found to reliably distinguish B. carambolae from B. dorsalis, B. invadens and B. papayae, no such characters have been found to differentiate the latter three putative species. We conclude that B. carambolae is a valid species and that the remaining taxa, B. dorsalis, B. invadens and B. papayae, represent the same species. Thus, we consider B. dorsalis (Hendel) as the senior synonym of B. papayae Drew and Hancock syn.n. and B. invadens Drew, Tsuruta & White syn.n. A redescription of B. dorsalis is provided. Given the agricultural importance of B. dorsalis, this taxonomic decision will have significant global plant biosecurity implications, affecting pest management, quarantine, international trade, postharvest treatment and basic research. Throughout the paper, we emphasize the value of independent and multidisciplinary tools in delimiting species, particularly in complicated cases involving morphologically cryptic taxa. © 2014 The Royal Entomological Society