Annotated world bibliography of host fruits of Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) infests fruits and vegetables of a number of different plant species, with host plants primarily found in the plant families Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae. Although B. latifrons is of primarily Asian distribution (e.g., Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Burma, China [Fujian, Yunnan, Hong Kong, Hainan], Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, and Brunei), its range has expanded through introductions into Hawaii, Okinawa, Tanzania, and Kenya, and poses a threat of introduction into other countries where it does not presently occur. As with other tephritid fruit fly species, establishment of B. latifrons can have significant economic consequences, including damage and loss of food production, as well as requirements for implementation of costly quarantine treatments to permit export of commodities susceptible to infestation by B. latifrons. In order to avoid these adverse economic consequences, one needs to prevent the entry, establishment and spread of B. latifrons into a new habitat. To successfully achieve this, an accurate knowledge of the fly’s host plants is essential. Cognizant of this need, we prepared, and present here, a worldwide list of host plants for B. latifrons, with annotations on reported laboratory and field infestation data. Overall, a total of 59 plant species from 14 plant families are identified as hosts of B. latifrons, based on reported field infestation data

Trapping Sweetpotato Weevil, Cylas formicarius (Coleoptera: Brentidae), with High Doses of Sex Pheromone: Catch Enhancement and Weathering Rate in Hawaii

Sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lamarck, one of the top ten staple crops produced worldwide, has increased in production in Hawaii in recent years. The sweetpotato weevil, Cylas formicarius (Summers) (Coleoptera: Brentidae), is a major economic and quarantine pest of sweetpotato in Hawaii as well as a pest of concern in all parts of the tropics where sweetpotatoes are grown. Sweetpotato weevil infestation can reduce marketable root yield as well as reduce root quality by inducing production of bitter tasting sesquiterpines by the sweetpotato tissue. Traps baited with a male sweetpotato weevil lure, (Z)-3-dodecenyl (E)-2-butenoate, can be used for population monitoring, or even for population suppression if mass trapping is done using high doses of this lure. Weathering rates, though, have not been documented in Hawaii for the higher septa loadings (100 to 1000 μg [=1.0 mg]) that have been proposed for use in population suppression efforts through mass trapping. Here, we present comparative catch rates and weathering rates, along the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii island, of traps baited with septa loaded with 12 μg, 120 μg, or 1.0 mg of male sweetpotato weevil lure. Traps baited with fresh 1.0 mg male lure caught over 22 times as many weevils as traps baited with 12 μg lure over an initial one-week trapping period. Based on a fitted decay curve, decline in attractiveness of the 1.0 mg treatment to 50% of fresh attractiveness occurred at 19.0 weeks, while the 120 μg treatment showed a 50% decline after 16.3 weeks, under climate conditions on the Hamakua Coast of Hawaii island. Further research is needed to test the effectiveness of mass trapping in reducing root damage by sweetpotato weevil, through the use of a high dose male lure in combination with the recently reported enhancement of trap catch by adding a green light source

Catch of the Adult Green Garden Looper, Chrysodeixis eriosoma (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in Sweetpotato Fields in Hawaii

Sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatus (L.) Lamarck, one of the top ten staple crops produced worldwide, was the top volume-producing vegetable crop in Hawaii in 2017. While conducting research on sweetpotato pests in Hawaii, we discovered that the green garden looper, Chrysodeixis eriosoma (Doubleday), was present in sweetpotato fields in Hawaii and we had recurrent non-target catch in traps baited with a binary pheromone lure for the sweetpotato vine borer, Omphisa anastomosalis Guenée. The green garden looper caterpillar is a generalist feeder that has the potential to damage a range of both vegetable and ornamental crops in Hawaii. Herein we report on the non-target catch of C. eriosoma, including documenting the effect of spatial trap location and trap height on trap catch. We also demonstrate that a commercially available lure formulated for C. chalcites is an effective detection/monitoring tool for C. eriosoma in Hawaii, as had previously been demonstrated in New Zealand

Recovery of Sweetpotato Vine Borer, Omphisa anastomosalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), in Sweetpotato Fields in Hawaii Through Field Collections and Detection Trapping

Sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lamarck, has been cultivated in Hawaii since at least 1778, with production increasing in recent years to the point where it was the top volume-producing vegetable crop in Hawaii in 2017. Sweet- potato production in Hawaii, though, is subject to several major insect pests that can adversely affect the quality and quantity of the crop. One such pest is the sweetpotato vine borer, Omphisa anastomosalis Guenée (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). A binary sex pheromone, recently identified through research with sweetpotato vine borer populations in Vietnam, has been shown to be comparably attractive in sweetpotato vine borer populations in Hawaii. Herein, research results are reported from tests where this improved sweetpotato vine borer sex attractant is used to assess the effect of trap type, trap height and trap spatial location on catch of male sweetpotato vine borer adults. The results presented here indicate that delta traps baited with the binary sex pheromone are good tools for population detection, with five times or more moth recovery and higher percentage detection relative to wing or Heliothis traps. Traps should be placed between 0.5 to 0.75 m above the sweetpotato foliage for best adult male moth recovery. Although moths are present throughout the sweetpotato field, as well as in near-border areas, trap catch may be more reliable towards the edges of the sweetpotato field. Also presented herein is some background on the biology of the sweetpotato vine borer that may be helpful for other researchers who seek to develop improved control of this insect pest

First Field Collection of the Rough Sweetpotato Weevil, Blosyrus asellus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), on Hawaii Island, with Notes on Detection Methods

Rough sweetpotato weevil, Blosyrus asellus (Olivier) (Coleoptera: Cur- culionidae), was first detected in the state of Hawaii at a commercial Okinawan sweetpotato farm in Waipio, Oahu, on 14 November 2008. Damage by this weevil species differs from other weevil pests of sweetpotato in Hawaii in that the rough sweetpotato weevil grubs feed on the surface of the sweetpotato root, creating channels on the surface of the root that damage the root and decrease its market- ability. Reported here is the first detection of this pest in sweetpotato fields on the island of Hawaii (Pepeekeo), in October 2014, with subsequent documentation in Paauilo (November 2014) and Papaikou (May 2015). Also reported is a trapping system that incorporates a solar powered green light emitting diode (LED) that can be used for detection, and some level of control, of this pest species in the field. Given our experience that a green light trap containing a sweetpotato-based bait has some attraction for the sweetpotato weevil (Cylas formicarius [Summers] [Coleoptera: Brentidae]), the West Indian sweetpotato weevil (Euscepes postfas- ciatus [Fairmaire] [Coleoptera: Curculionidae]) and the rough sweetpotato weevil, there is hope that this trap design could also detect the presence of other weevil pests of sweetpotato that might invade Hawaii

Sensitivity of the Quarantine Pest Rough Sweetpotato Weevil, Blosyrus asellus to Postharvest Irradiation Treatment

Rough sweetpotato weevil, Blosyrus asellus (Olivier), is a new quar- antine pest of Hawaii sweetpotatoes. Currently, sweetpotatoes can be exported from Hawaii to the U.S. mainland using a postharvest irradiation treatment of 150 Gy to control three other regulated insect pests. Studies were conducted to deter- mine whether this current radiation dose will also control any rough sweetpotato weevils in export shipments. Adult weevils were treated at various levels between 25 to 125 Gy and egg laying and egg hatch were measured. Rough sweetpotato weevil was found to be highly susceptible to irradiation, with no egg hatch at any radiation dose, even 25 Gy, the lowest dose tested. Results suggest that the 150 Gy irradiation treatment should be sufficient for control of rough sweetpotato weevil in Hawaii sweetpotatoes

Population biology and prospects for suppression of the solanaceous fruit fly, Bactrocera latifrons (Diptera: Tephritidae).

Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) is a tephritid fruit fly native to South and Southeast Asia. First detected in Hawaii in 1983, it primarily infests fruits of solanaceous plants but has also been found to infest fruits of some species of cucurbitaceous plants in Hawaii. Because it has been known in Hawaii for a much shorter period of time than the other three introduced tephritid fruit flies of economic importance, there has been much less opportunity to study its basic biology and ecology. One area not yet sufficiently understood is the population ecology of this species. Here, we report on the population levels of B. latifrons as they relate to turkeyberry (Solanum torvum Sw) phenology in a cattle pasture with abundant turkeyberry patches in the vicinity of Haiku, Maui

Extension Of The Use Of Augmentoria For Sanitation In A Cropping System Susceptible To the Alien Terphritid Fruit Flies (diptera: Terphritidae) In Hawaii.

Tephritid fruit flies are a major problem of fruit and vegetable crops throughout the world. Management programs for the control of these pests use a range of techniques, but sequestering fruit to prevent progeny survival is often overlooked. This study reports efforts to demonstrate to growers of fruiting crops a technique to sequester emerging adult flies while conserving their parasitoid natural enemies. Demonstration trials were conducted in 4 phases to determine whether growers on the Island of Hawaii would use a tent-like structure (augmentorium) to sequester fruit-fly infested, culled fruit. In phase 1 it was shown that 1127 Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) were recovered from cull fruit removed to the augmentorium, and that the combination of bait spray, male lure trapping and sanitation could reduce the level of infestation. Subsequently phase 2 confirmed the three techniques disrupted the breeding cycle and 2 farmers were convinced to use these techniques. In phase 3, further expansion to 12 farms, whose 15 augmentoria were monitored, indicated that over 80% of the growers used the tents (22,217 adult flies recovered from the tents over 1260 days). In phase 4, success of phases 1 to 3 convinced 30 farms to requested 40 augmentoria and an opinion survey of those growers is reported. Implications for use of augmentoria to sequester other insect pests and release their natural enemies, is discussed.

Assessment of Attractiveness of Plants as Roosting Sites for the Melon Fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae, and Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis

The use of toxic protein bait sprays to suppress melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett) (Diptera: Tephritidae), populations typically involves application to vegetation bordering agricultural host areas where the adults seek shelter (“roost”). Although bait spray applications for suppression of oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), populations have traditionally been applied to the host crop, rather than to crop borders, roosting by oriental fruit flies in borders of some crop species, such as papaya, Carica papaya L. (Brassicales: Caricaceae), suggests that bait spray applications to crop borders could also help in suppression of B. dorsalis populations. In order to develop improved recommendations for application of bait sprays to border plants for suppression of melon fly and oriental fruit fly populations, the relative attractiveness of a range of plant species, in a vegetative (non-flowering) stage, was tested to wild melon fly and oriental fruit fly populations established in a papaya orchard in Hawaii. A total of 20 plant species were evaluated, divided into four categories: 1) border plants, including corn, Zea mays L. (Poales: Poaceae), windbreaks and broad-leaved ornamentals, 7 species; 2) weed plants commonly found in agricultural fields in Hawaii, 6 species; 3) host crop plants, 1 species- zucchini, Cucurbita pepo L. (Violales: Curcurbitaceae), and 4) locally grown fruit trees, 6 species. Plants were established in pots and placed in an open field, in clusters encircling protein bait traps, 20 m away from the papaya orchard. Castor bean, Ricinus communis L. (Euphorbiales: Euphorbiaceae), panax, Polyscias guilfoylei (Bull) Bailey (Apiales: Araliaceae), tiger's claw, Erythnna variegata L. (Fabales: Fabaceae), and guava, Psidium guajava L. (Myrtales: Myrtaceae) were identified as preferred roosting hosts for the melon fly, and tiger's claw, panax, castor bean, Canada cocklebur, Xanthium strumarium L. (Asterales: Asteraceae), Brazilian pepper tree, Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae), ti plant, Cordyline terminate (L.) Chev.(Liliales: Liliaceae), guava and several Citrus spp. were identified as preferred roosting hosts for oriental fruit fly. Guava had not previously been identified as a preferred roosting host for melon fly. Other than for the use of panax as a roosting host, there has previously been little attention to roosting hosts for oriental fruit fly. Establishment of preferred roosting hosts as crop borders may help to improve suppression of both fruit fly species by providing sites for bait spray applications. Further research is needed to assess the use of vegetation bordering other host crops as roosting hosts, especially for oriental fruit fly

Evaluation of Readmission Ink as a Marker for Dispersal Studies with the Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis

In this text we present a new marking dye, readmission ink, Blak-Ray, for the purpose of insect movement studies. The dye was tested in a controlled experiment with Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) in anticipation of a long distance movement study planned for the following year with the same species. 700 individuals of both sexes were marked with the dye and placed in holding containers. Both the percentage of mortality and the ease of dye detection were monitored throughout a five-week period. Results showed minimal fly mortality and exceptional ease of dye detection