Emerging Pest Alert

Update on the distribution of Bactrocera invadens – First find in Bhutan

Scientific Name: Bactrocera invadens

Describer: Drew, Tsuruta & White

Common Name: nan

Title: Update on the distribution of Bactrocera invadens – First find in Bhutan

Summary:

Significance: Within the last few years Bactrocera invadens has been rapidly spreading across Africa. A report also recently emerged that the fruit fly is in Southern India (http://www.pestalert.org/viewNewsAlert.cfm?naid=44). Drew et al. has now reported this pest in Bhutan (2007), marking a northeastern spread from the known distribution.

Issues of Concern: Bactrocera invadens poses a significant threat to many economically important fruit crops. It is also morphologically similar to Bactrocera (Bactrocera) dorsalis(Hendel), which is found in Southeast Asia, as well as Bactrocera (Bactrocera) kandiensis (Drew and Hancock), a native of Sri Lanka.

References:

Drew, R. A. I., M. C. Romig, and C. Dorji. 2007. Records of Dacine fruit flies and new species of Dacus (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Bhutan. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 55(1): 1-21.

Drew, R. A. I., K. Tsuruta, and I. M. White. 2005. A new species of pest fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) from Sri Lanka and Africa. African Entomology 13: 149-154.

Sithanantham, S., P. Selvaraj, and T. Boopathi. 2006. The Fruit Fly Bactrocera invadens (Tephritidae: Diptera) – New to India. Pestology, Vol. XXX, No. 9, pp. 36-37.