Academic literature on the topic 'Bactrocera – Queensland'

Weekly data from the urban and rural environments of numerous Australian inland towns were used to assess the impact of urban environments on the potential growth rate of the Queensland fruit fly. The urban environments were warmer and more moist than adjacent rural environments, making rural landscapes less attractive for fruit fly. Further analysis of climatic data revealed an acute negative water balance during the summer season. Under this harsh environment, the health and greenness of urban backyards and parks is maintained with frequent use of urban irrigation. This study aims to quantify the impact of urban hydrology on environmental conditions for the population potential of Queensland fruit fly in south-eastern New South Wales. CLIMEX, a climate-driven simulation model, was used in this study. Results indicated that throughout the winter season, low temperatures kept the Queensland fruit fly under control, irrespective of any other factor, including favourable moisture conditions. During summer, moisture was the major limiting factor. Even partial irrigation reduced the limiting effects of the deficiency of rainfall often experienced during midsummer. Irrigation also resulted in a large increase in the duration of the favourable period for the potential growth of fruit fly and an almost complete removal of unfavourable periods. When irrigation water was applied at optimal or excessive levels, the duration of favourable conditions for the Queensland fruit fly extended beyond the summer season. For the Queensland fruit fly, towns appear to be oases compared with the surrounding rural desert. Queensland fruit fly is unlikely to travel freely between towns, minimising chances of reinvasion once a resident population has been eliminated.

The Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni, like the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, has a diploid complement of 12 chromosomes, including five pairs of autosomes and a XX/XY sex chromosome pair. Characteristic features of each chromosome are described. Chromosomal homology between B. tryoni and C. capitata has been determined by comparing chromosome banding pattern and in situ hybridisation of cloned genes to polytene chromosomes. Although the evidence indicates that a number of chromosomal inversions have occurred since the separation of the two species, synteny of the chromosomes appears to have been maintained.Key words: tephritid fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni, polytene chromosomes, in situ hybridisation, chromosomal homology.

The cuticular layer of the insect exoskeleton contains diverse compounds that serve important biological functions, including the maintenance of homeostasis by protecting against water loss, protection from injury, pathogens and insecticides, and communication. Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) is the most destructive pest of fruit production in Australia, yet there are no published accounts of this species’ cuticular chemistry. We here provide a comprehensive description of B. tryoni cuticular chemistry. We used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to identify and characterize compounds in hexane extracts of B. tryoni adults reared from larvae in naturally infested fruits. The compounds found included spiroacetals, aliphatic amides, saturated/unsaturated and methyl branched C12 to C20 chain esters and C29 to C33 normal and methyl-branched alkanes. The spiroacetals and esters were found to be specific to mature females, while the amides were found in both sexes. Normal and methyl-branched alkanes were qualitatively the same in all age and sex groups but some of the alkanes differed in amounts (as estimated from internal standard-normalized peak areas) between mature males and females, as well as between mature and immature flies. This study provides essential foundations for studies investigating the functions of cuticular chemistry in this economically important species.

Abstract Three Australian tephritid fruit flies (Bactrocera tryoni - Q-fly, Bactrocera neohumeralis - NEO, and Bactrocera jarvisi - JAR) are promising models for genetic studies of pest status and invasiveness. The long history of ecological and physiological studies of the three species has been augmented by the development of a range of genetic and genomic tools, including the capacity for forced multigeneration crosses between the three species followed by selection experiments, a draft genome for Q-fly, and tissue- and stage-specific transcriptomes. The Q-fly and NEO species pair is of particular interest. The distribution of NEO is contained entirely within the wider distribution of Q-fly and the two species are ecologically extremely similar, with no known differences in pheromones, temperature tolerance, or host-fruit utilisation. However there are three clear differences between them: humeral callus colour, complete pre-mating isolation based on mating time-of-day, and invasiveness. NEO is much less invasive, whereas in historical times Q-fly has invaded southeastern Australia and areas of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. In southeastern fruit-growing regions, microsatellites suggest that some of these outbreaks might derive from genetically differentiated populations overwintering in or near the invaded area. Q-fly and NEO show very limited genome differentiation, so comparative genomic analyses and QTL mapping should be able to identify the regions of the genome controlling mating time and invasiveness, to assess the genetic bases for the invasive strains of Q-fly, and to facilitate a variety of improvements to current sterile insect control strategies for that species.

Summary. A postharvest dimethoate treatment at 400 mg/L applied through a packing-line spray system achieved >99.99% efficacy as a quarantine disinfestation method against Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) infesting capsicums (peppers), Capsicum annuum L. There were no survivors in confirmatory tests on fruit containing 77 130 eggs, the most tolerant life stage. The spray system thoroughly wetted fruit at a delivery rate of 9.2 L/min.m2 for a minimum time of 1 min.

Bactrocera tryoni, the Queensland fruit fly, is established along the entire Australian east coast. It is a major pest of horticulture and arguably the worst horticultural insect pest in Australia. Adult flies lay eggs into fruit and resultant larvae feed on the flesh of the fruit. The population biology of B. tryoni has been well studied in temperate regions, where it has been established that climatic factors, particularly temperature and rainfall, limit population growth. In contrast, in subtropical and tropical regions, the population dynamics of the fly have been little studied. This thesis investigates the fly's phenology and abundance changes across subtropical and tropical Queensland and asks what factors govern the population cycles of B. tryoni in this state. Winter breeding and abundance of the fly, a component of the seasonal cycle which in south-east Queensland is fundamentally different from that observed in temperate Australia, is also investigated. A historical, extensive multi-year and multi-site trapping data set with from across Queensland was analysed to look at the effects of temperature, rainfall and relative humidity on B. tryoni trap catch. Trap data was further compared with the predicted phenology data generated by a DYMEX® based B. tryoni population phenology model. The phenology model used was based on a previously published model, but was also modified to more explicitly look at the effects of host plant availability and the presence or absence of non-reproductive over-wintering flies. Over-wintering field cage studies and a winter-spring field trapping study, both carried out in Brisbane, supplied additional data on B. tryoni's population abundance and capacity to breed during winter in the subtropics. Results show significant variation of monthly fly abundance for nine sites across Queensland. Abundance changed across sites in non-predictable ways. Annual population phenology within a site was, for some sites, highly consistent from year to year, but inconsistent for other sites. All sites in the subtropics showed some form of population depression during the cooler months, but breeding was continuous, albeit reduced at nearly all sites. Some tropical sites, where the climate is regarded as highly favourable for B. tryoni, still showed dramatic peaks and troughs in annual population abundance. There were relatively few significant correlations observed between weather factors and fly populations for any site. Output from the DYMEX population model suggested that fruit availability is a major driver of population dynamics in the tropical north of the state, while weather is more important in the subtropical south. The population dynamics of B. tryoni at sites along the central Queensland coast, where it is assumed that a mix of both weather and host fruit availability drive local populations, were poorly captured by the population model. Field cage results showed that B. tryoni successfully bred during winter in Brisbane, with pupal emergence starting in mid-winter (1st week of August), peaking in early spring (2nd week of September). Trap catch at orchards in Brisbane increased with increasing temperature and fruit availability, but diminished with decreasing temperature and fruit availability. The results suggest that B. tryoni has an optimal climate for population growth in the tropics, but fruit availability for offspring production limits population growth. In the subtropics however, both climate and fruit availability determine the population size. Winter temperatures are marginal for B. tryoni population growth in the subtropics.

Bactrocera tryoni, the Queensland fruit fly, is established along the entire Australian east coast. It is a major pest of horticulture and arguably the worst horticultural insect pest in Australia. Adult flies lay eggs into fruit and resultant larvae feed on the flesh of the fruit. The population biology of B. tryoni has been well studied in temperate regions, where it has been established that climatic factors, particularly temperature and rainfall, limit population growth. In contrast, in subtropical and tropical regions, the population dynamics of the fly have been little studied. This thesis investigates the fly's phenology and abundance changes across subtropical and tropical Queensland and asks what factors govern the population cycles of B. tryoni in this state. Winter breeding and abundance of the fly, a component of the seasonal cycle which in south-east Queensland is fundamentally different from that observed in temperate Australia, is also investigated. A historical, extensive multi-year and multi-site trapping data set with from across Queensland was analysed to look at the effects of temperature, rainfall and relative humidity on B. tryoni trap catch. Trap data was further compared with the predicted phenology data generated by a DYMEX® based B. tryoni population phenology model. The phenology model used was based on a previously published model, but was also modified to more explicitly look at the effects of host plant availability and the presence or absence of non-reproductive over-wintering flies. Over-wintering field cage studies and a winter-spring field trapping study, both carried out in Brisbane, supplied additional data on B. tryoni's population abundance and capacity to breed during winter in the subtropics. Results show significant variation of monthly fly abundance for nine sites across Queensland. Abundance changed across sites in non-predictable ways. Annual population phenology within a site was, for some sites, highly consistent from year to year, but inconsistent for other sites. All sites in the subtropics showed some form of population depression during the cooler months, but breeding was continuous, albeit reduced at nearly all sites. Some tropical sites, where the climate is regarded as highly favourable for B. tryoni, still showed dramatic peaks and troughs in annual population abundance. There were relatively few significant correlations observed between weather factors and fly populations for any site. Output from the DYMEX population model suggested that fruit availability is a major driver of population dynamics in the tropical north of the state, while weather is more important in the subtropical south. The population dynamics of B. tryoni at sites along the central Queensland coast, where it is assumed that a mix of both weather and host fruit availability drive local populations, were poorly captured by the population model. Field cage results showed that B. tryoni successfully bred during winter in Brisbane, with pupal emergence starting in mid-winter (1st week of August), peaking in early spring (2nd week of September). Trap catch at orchards in Brisbane increased with increasing temperature and fruit availability, but diminished with decreasing temperature and fruit availability. The results suggest that B. tryoni has an optimal climate for population growth in the tropics, but fruit availability for offspring production limits population growth. In the subtropics however, both climate and fruit availability determine the population size. Winter temperatures are marginal for B. tryoni population growth in the subtropics.

Fruit flies are the insects which cause maggots in your backyard fruit and vegetables. They are not just a nuisance to gardeners, but the single greatest insect threat to commercial and subsistence fruit growers throughout Asia, Australia and the Pacific. Queensland fruit fly, the focus of this PhD, costs Australia an estimated $100million per year. I focused specifically on how Queensland fruit fly uses different commercial citrus varieties. I identified specific plant related mechanisms which increase a fruit’s resistance to fruit fly attack. This information can be used by plant breeders to make fruit less prone to fruit fly damage.

Queensland fruit fly is Australia’s most destructive horticultural insect pest. The flies need to mate to successfully reproduce, but there remained significant gaps in knowledge about how they find and select mates. I showed that male and female flies likely use physical landmarks to find each other in the environment. Having found potential mates, I described their fine-scale courtship behaviour and demonstrated that young, large male flies are most successful at securing a mate. I also made significant advances in our understanding of the potential for close-range chemical communication to play a role in mate identification and selection. This research directly informs sustainable management strategies against this pest.

The Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae), a major pest of horticulture in eastern Australia, is a relatively poor coloniser of new habitat. This thesis examines behavioural properties that might limit the ability of B. tryoni to establish new populations. As the potential for B. tryoni to establish an outbreak population may be most directly limited by mechanisms associated with dispersal and mating behaviour, these two factors were the focus of this research project. The relevance of dispersal and mating behaviour for control of outbreak populations was assessed. Dispersal (i) Dispersal patterns of males and females are not different. Dispersal of post-teneral male B. tryoni from a point within an orchard near Richmond, New South Wales, was monitored following temporally replicated releases. Application of sterile insect technique (SIT) requires knowledge of dispersal from a release point so that effective release rates can be determined. In addition, dispersal following introduction to new habitat can lead to low or negative population growth and an Allee effect. In Spring and Autumn, 2001 � 2003, three different strains of B. tryoni were released: (1) wild flies reared from infested fruit collected in the Sydney Basin; (2) a laboratory-reared strain with a colour mutation (white marks); and (3) sterile flies obtained by gamma-irradiation of a mass-reared strain. Dispersal was monitored using a grid of traps baited with the male attractant, cuelure. During the majority of releases, flies were massmarked using a self-marking technique and fluorescent pigment powder to enable identification of recaptured flies. A preliminary study found that fluorescent pigment marks had no effect on adult survival and marks did not fade significantly in the laboratory over a period of five weeks after eclosion. As cuelure repels inseminated sexually mature female B. tryoni, unbaited, coloured flat sticky traps, and black and yellow sticky sphere traps baited with a food lure (protein autolysate solution) were used to supplement traps baited with cuelure. The effectiveness of these two sticky trap types was assessed, and recaptures used to compare patterns of dispersal from a release point by male and female B. tryoni. Fluorescent yellow (chartreuse), green, and clear unbaited flat sticky traps were relatively ineffective for monitoring dispersal of sterile male and female B. tryoni, recapturing only 0.1% of released sterile flies. Monitoring dispersal with sticky ball traps baited with protein autolysate solution was more successful, with yellow spheres and black spheres recapturing 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively. Trap colour had no effect on recaptures on flat sticky traps or sticky spheres. Equal recapture rates on yellow and black sticky sphere traps suggests that the odour of yeast autolysate solution was more important than colour for attraction of post-teneral flies to traps. Using the results of recaptures on odoriferous black and yellow sticky sphere traps within one week of release, regression equations of male and female recaptures per trap were found to be similar (Figure 4-3). This is the first study to clearly indicate that post-teneral dispersal patterns of male and female B. tryoni released from a point do not differ, enabling the use of existing models to predict density of both sexes of B. tryoni following post-teneral dispersal. (ii) Males disperse further in Spring than in Autumn, but this is not temperature-related. Analysis of replicated recaptures in traps baited with cuelure revealed that dispersal of male B. tryoni in an orchard near Richmond, New South Wales, was higher in Spring than in Autumn (Figure 5-6). As the maximum daily temperature was significantly higher in Spring than in Autumn this result was unexpected, since earlier studies have found that B. tryoni disperse at the onset of cool weather in search of sheltered over-wintering sites. Dispersal of post-teneral B. tryoni may have been affected by habitat suitability; it was found that seasonal trends in dispersal could have been influenced by local habitat variables. Low mean dispersal distances in Autumn may be explained by the presence of fruiting hosts in the orchard, or the availability of resources required by over-wintering flies. There was no significant correlation between temperature and mean dispersal distance, suggesting that higher rates of dispersal cannot be explained by temperature-related increases in activity. Recapture rate per trap was significantly negatively correlated with increasing daily maximum and average temperature. This may have consequences for detection of B. tryoni outbreaks in quarantine areas due to reduced cuelure trap efficiency. (iii) Maturity and source variation affect dispersal and response to cuelure. This research indicated that most male and female B. tryoni do not disperse far from a release point, suggesting that an invading propagule would not spread far in the first generation. However, there is considerable variation in flight capability among individuals. Comparison of wild, laboratory-reared white marks, and gamma-irradiated sterile male B. tryoni indicated that mean dispersal distance and redistribution patterns were not significantly affected by fly origin. Despite no difference in dispersal distance from the release point, recaptures of wild and sterile males per Lynfield trap baited with cuelure were highest within one week after release, whereas recaptures of white marks males per trap increased in the second week. This result may offer evidence to support the hypothesis that sterile male B. tryoni respond to cuelure at an earlier age. Rearing conditions used to produce large quantities of males for sterilisation by gamma-irradiation may select for earlier sexual maturity. Mating Behaviour (i) Density and sex ratio do not affect mating, except at low densities. Demographic stochasticity in the form of sex ratio fluctuations at low population density can lead to an observed Allee effect. The effect of local group density and sex ratio on mating behaviour and male mating success of a laboratory-adapted strain of B. tryoni was examined in laboratory cages. In the laboratory-adapted strain of B. tryoni used in this study, a group of one female and one male was sufficient for a good chance of mating success. The proportion of females mated and male mating success was not significantly affected by density or sex ratio, although variability in male mating success was higher at low density. This could indicate that mating success of B. tryoni can be reduced when local group density is low owing to decreased frequency in encounters between males and females. (ii) Mass-reared males exhibit aberrant mating behaviour, but this does not reduce mating success. Strong artificial selection in mass-rearing facilities may lead to decreased competitiveness of sterile males released in SIT programs as a result of alteration or loss of ecological and behavioural traits required in the field. The effects of domestication and irradiation on the mating behaviour of males of B. tryoni were investigated by caging wild, mass-reared and sterile (mass-reared and gammairradiated) males with wild females. Mating behaviour of mass-reared males was different from that of wild males, but behaviour of wild and sterile males was similar. Mass-reared males were found to engage in mounting of other males much more frequently than wild and sterile males, and began calling significantly earlier before darkness. Male calling did not appear to be associated with female choice of mating partners, although this does not exclude the possibility that calling is a cue used by females to discriminate between mating partners. Conditions used to domesticate and rear large quantities of B. tryoni for SIT may select for an alternative male mating strategy, with mass-reared males calling earlier and exercising less discrimination between potential mating partners. Despite differences in behaviour of wild, mass-reared and sterile males, frequency of successful copulations and mating success were similar. (iii) Pheromone-calling by males was increased in larger aggregations but this did not result in significantly more female visits. Finally, large laboratory cages with artificial leks were used to investigate the importance in B. tryoni of male group size for female visitation at lek sites and initiation of male pheromone-calling. Calling propensity of male B. tryoni was increased by the presence of conspecific males. Females visited the largest lek more frequently than single males, but there was no correlation between lek size and female visitation. Female B. tryoni had a limited capacity to perceive a difference between the number of calling males; female visitation at leks was only weakly associated with male calling, suggesting that lek size and the number of pheromone-calling males may not be the only factor important in locating mates in B. tryoni. The weak, but positive correlation between male calling and female visitation may indicate that passive attraction maintains lek-mating in B. tryoni. Further studies are essential on mating behaviour of B. tryoni, including identification of male mating aggregations in the field, measurement of habitat variables associated with male aggregations, the influence of density on wild B. tryoni mating success, and the role of pheromone-calling, in order to optimise use of SIT for control of this pest.

Fruit flies are insect pests which cause devastating losses to fruit and vegetable crops around the globe. Replacing pesticides with natural enemies is a preferred option for their sustainable control. This study investigated the abundance, distribution and biology of two such natural enemies: the small parasitic wasps Fopius arisanus and Diachasmimorpha kraussii. F. arisanus was identified as having more successful characteristics than D. kraussii, making it the most common fruit fly parasitod in southeast Queensland. The research lead to advances in understanding insect behaviour as well as recommendations for better utilisation of parasitoids for fruit fly control.

Queensland fruit fly is Australia's most serious insect pest of horticulture. The fly lays its eggs into fruit, where they hatch into maggots which destroy the fruit. Understanding egg laying behaviour, known as oviposition, is a critical but under-researched aspect of fruit fly biology. This thesis focused on three aspects of oviposition: the role of fruit peel as a physical barrier to oviposition; the quality of fruit for maggot development; and the structure and wear of the egg laying organ – the ovipositor. Results showed that flies selected fruit based on their suitability for offspring survival, not because of the softness or hardness of fruit peel. Previously reported use of holes or wounds in fruit peel by ovipositing females was determined to be a mechanism which saved the female time, not a mechanism to reduce ovipositor wear. The results offer insights into the evolution of host use by fruit flies and their sustainable management.

Fruit flies are major pests to a wide range of fruits and vegetables as their larvae cause damage and yield loss. To replace pesticide-based controls with more sustainable management approaches, we need to develop new generation technologies. This thesis focuses on molecular and whole-organism studies to investigate the interactions between Queensland fruit fly larvae and tomato fruit. Through molecular analysis, different mechanisms were identified to determine the susceptibility of various tomato varieties to fruit fly damage. The results pave the way for future studies on breeding for fruit resistance to fruit fly attack and sustainable pest management.

Queensland fruit fly is a destructive horticultural insect pest. Knowing the age-structure of fly populations, that is the relative proportion of young, middle-age, and old-age flies within a population at a given time, is critical for effective management. The thesis combined behavioural ecology with a novel mathematical analysis to identify the seasonal changes in the age of a wild Queensland fruit fly population. The study showed that the abundance and age-structure of the fly changed predictably with the season, strongly suggestive of an endogenous mechanism that helps the fly cope with seasonal changes in resource availability.

The Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni) is a significant horticultural pest in Australia, and has also established in other parts of the Pacific. There is a significant risk to New Zealand of invasion by this species, and several recent incursions have occurred. The potential effects of climate change on the distribution and impacts of invasive species are well known. This paper uses species distribution modelling using Maxent to predict the suitability of New Zealand to the Queensland fruit fly based on known occurrences worldwide and Bioclim climatic layers. Under current climatic conditions the majority of the country was generally in the lower range, with some areas in the medium range. Suitability prediction maps under future climate change conditions in 2050 and 2070, at lower emission (RCP 2.6) and higher emission (RCP 8.5) scenarios generally show an increase in suitability in both the North and South Islands. Calculations of the shift of suitable areas show a general movement of the centroid towards the south-east, with the higher emission scenario showing a greater magnitude of movement.