{"id":3650,"date":"2014-02-03T06:00:12","date_gmt":"2014-02-03T06:00:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/esc-sec.ca\/wp\/2014\/02\/03\/african-fig-fly-shows-up-in-canada-first-occurrences-of-another-fruit-infesting-fly-and-potential-pest\/"},"modified":"2019-11-14T21:42:55","modified_gmt":"2019-11-14T21:42:55","slug":"african-fig-fly-shows-up-in-canada-first-occurrences-of-another-fruit-infesting-fly-and-potential-pest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esc-sec.ca\/fr\/2014\/02\/03\/african-fig-fly-shows-up-in-canada-first-occurrences-of-another-fruit-infesting-fly-and-potential-pest\/","title":{"rendered":"African fig fly shows up in Canada: first occurrences of another fruit-infesting fly and potential pest."},"content":{"rendered":"

By Justin Renkema<\/a>, Post-Doc, University of Guelph<\/span><\/p>\n

—–<\/p>\n

It was an early morning after a long drive from Guelph to a small fruit farm in Chatham-Kent where my undergraduate student, Caitlyn, and I were conducting a small-plot spray trial to test the effect s of repellents against Drosophila suzukii<\/em> (Spotted Wing Drosophila)<\/a>, a recent invasive and serious fruit pest. \u00a0I knew the raspberry patch was heavily infested with D. suzukii<\/em> so before getting to work, to amuse ourselves at the start of the day, I started gently shaking canes, and we watched the swarms of fruit flies disperse and hover over the fresh fruit. \u00a0However, as I went to grab a branch low to the ground, I noticed something different about one of the fruit flies sitting on a leaf. \u00a0It had characteristic white \u201cracing stripes\u201d along its thorax, unlike any other fruit fly I had seen. \u00a0This was it! \u00a0This was very likely Zaprionus indianus<\/em> or African fig fly, another invasive and potential fruit pest that we knew was moving northwards from the southeastern USA. \u00a0Caitlyn grabbed a vial and we successfully had, on 10 September 2013, what we thought was the first capture of this fly in Ontario and Canada.<\/p>\n

\"Zaprionis<\/a>

Zaprionis indianus<\/em> photographed by Dr. Stephen Marshall in Africa. (Photo \u00a9\u00a0Stephen A. Marshall, used with permission)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Indeed the fly was <\/span>Z. indianus<\/em>, as determined by <\/span>Meredith Miller<\/a>, a M.Sc. student at the University of Guelph working on taxonomy of <\/span>Drosophila<\/em> spp. in Ontario. \u00a0Through contact with Hannah Fraser at Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs, we learned that their Ontario-wide monitoring program for <\/span>D. suzukii<\/em> had also picked up some African fig flies in apple-cider vinegar traps, and a few at an earlier date than our find in Chatham-Kent. \u00a0Colleagues in Quebec (Jean-Phillipe L\u00e9gar\u00e9 and others at MAPAQ) had also found what they believed were <\/span>Z. indianus<\/em>. \u00a0Once all the material was collected and examined by Meredith, we submitted a scientific note documenting our <\/span>Z. indianus<\/em> discovery in Canada that was published by <\/span>the Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Zaprionus indianus<\/em> is native to the Afrotropical region. \u00a0It was found in Brazil in 1998 where it was given its common name because it became a significant pest of figs. \u00a0In 2005, Z. indianus<\/em> was discovered in Florida and has since been found successively further north and west in the USA (see a map of its distribution here<\/a>). \u00a0It is likely that the North American infestation did not come from the Brazilian population. \u00a0Zaprionus indianus<\/em> is the only member of Zaprionus<\/em> present in Canada, and therefore the reddish-brown head and thorax and particularly the silvery stripes that extend from the antennae to the tip of scutellum can be used as distinguishing features.<\/p>\n

\"Zaprionis<\/a><\/p>\n

Unlike D. suzukii<\/em> (thankfully!), female Z. indianus<\/em> do not possess heavily sclerotized and serrated ovipositors and are not currently seen as a serious threat to temperate fruit crops. \u00a0They have been reared from a number of tropical, tree-ripened fruits in Florida and there is concern in vineyards in the eastern USA, where sometimes they outnumber D. suzukii<\/em> in traps. It is possible that Z. indianus<\/em> can use fruit that has been oviposited in by D. suzukii<\/em>, thus increasing damage and possibly complicating control measures. \u00a0In Canada, particularly Ontario and Quebec, winter temperatures may preclude establishment of African fig fly, and yearly re-infestation from the south would be necessary for it to show up in future years. \u00a0At all but one site, we found just 1-4 flies during late summer and early fall per site, so it will be interesting to see what happens to numbers this coming growing season. \u00a0In tropical and sub-tropical locations much larger populations have been detected the year following first detection.<\/p>\n

For the past 1.5 years I have been working as a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Guelph<\/a> with Rebecca Hallett<\/a> on\u00a0D. suzukii<\/em>. \u00a0We are developing a push-pull management strategy using volatile plant compounds to repel and attract this pest. \u00a0With the occurrence of\u00a0Z. indianus<\/em>\u00a0and possible reoccurrence \u00a0in larger numbers in the future, we may have a unique opportunity to study how two recent invaders using similar resources interact, and also, perhaps, a more significant challenge ahead of us \u00a0in developing management strategies. \u00a0If you are interested in this topic or have current or future experiences with\u00a0Z. indianus<\/em>, I and co-authors on the scientific note would appreciate hearing from you. \u00a0You can contact me at\u00a0renkemaj@uoguelph.ca<\/a>.<\/p>\n

—-<\/p>\n

Renkema J.M., Miller M., Fraser H., L\u00e9gar\u00e9 J.P. & Hallett R.H. (2013). First records of Zaprionus indianus<\/em> Gupta (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from commercial fruit fields in Ontario and Quebec, Canada, Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 144<\/span> 125-130. OPEN ACCESS [PDF<\/a>]<\/span><\/p>\n

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