BREADFRUIT FLY (Bactrocera umbrosa (Fabricius))

Female breadfruit fly     (Photo: S. Wilson)

DISTRIBUTION: Widespread and very common in Malaysia, southern Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea (much less common in the Highlands), Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

HOST PLANTS: Host range restricted to Artocarpus spp. (Moraceae): breadfruit (A. altilis), jackfruit (A. heterophyllus), chempedak (A. integer) (record from Asia). Host records from other families in Asia to be verified.

BIOLOGY: Adults mate at dusk. This very common species causes considerable damage to breadfruit by ovipositing in ripe breadfruit, but also younger fruits, causing premature ripening and drop of fruits. In Solomon Islands, populations peak in December-January, which corresponds to the main breadfruit season. This species has been kept in laboratory colonies in New Caledonia, reared on potato-carrot diet, and in Vanuatu and Solomon Islands on breadfruit-based diet.

ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE: Damage assessments have shown that it attacks 30% of breadfruits in Vanuatu and up to 75% of breadfruits in Papua New Guinea (in combination with B. frauenfeldi).

MALE LURE: Methyl eugenol.

QUARANTINE SURVEILLANCE: Methyl eugenol trapping and regular host fruit surveys of breadfruit.

OPTIONS FOR RESPONSE (If newly discovered in a country): Increased trapping, increased host fruit sampling, restriction of fruit movement, protein bait spraying, male annihilation.

CONTROL: Fruit bagging, protein bait spraying, destruction of fallen and overripe fruits, early harvest of mature green fruits.

REFERENCES:  
Drew, R.A.I. 1989.The tropical fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) of the Australasian and Oceanian regions. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. Volume 26. 521 pp. (Description and illustration).   
Hong, T.K., Serit, M. 1988. Movements and population density comparisons of native male adult Dacus dorsalis and Dacus umbrosus (Diptera: Tephritidae) among three ecosystems. Journal of plant protection in the tropics. 5: 17-21.  (Ecology). 
Vagalo, M., Hollingsworth, R., Tsatsia, F. 1997. Fruit fly fauna in Solomon Islands. pp. 81-86 in: Allwood, A.J., and Drew, R.A I., Management of fruit flies in the Pacific. ACIAR Proceedings No 76. 267pp. (Host list, seasonal abundance).  
Tan, H.K. 1984. Description of a new attractant trap and the effect of placement height on catches of two Dacus species (Diptera: Tephritidae). Journal of Plant Protection in the Tropics. 1: 117-120. (Trapping). 
Tan, H.K. 1985. Estimation of native populations of male Dacus spp. by Jolly's stochastic method using a new designed attractant trap in a village ecosystem. Journal of Plant Protection in the Tropics. 2: 87-95. (Trapping). 
Tan, H.K., and Lee, S.L. 1982. Species diversity and abundance of Dacus   (Diptera: Tephritidae) in five ecosystems of Penang, West Malaysia. Bulletin of Entomological Research. 72: 709-716.

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