Occurrence of late-emerging populations of the blueberry maggot fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)

2001 ◽  
Vol 133 (2) ◽  
pp. 239-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
L.A.F. Teixeira ◽  
S. Polavarapu
Keyword(s):  
Sibling Species ◽  
Vaccinium Corymbosum ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Flight Period ◽  
Premating Isolation ◽  
Evolutionary Mechanisms ◽  
Emergence Patterns ◽  
Rhagoletis Mendax ◽  
Blueberry Maggot Fly ◽  
Commercial Field

AbstractMonitoring of adult flight patterns of the blueberry maggot fly, Rhagoletis mendax Curran, in New Jersey, indicated that the adults are active over a much longer period than previously reported. Captures on Pherocon AM traps over two seasons in wild sites and commercial fields of highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L. (Ericaceae), showed that adult flies are present for most of the period from early July to early November. Trap captures in wild sites peaked during July–August, whereas in some commercial fields, peak captures were recorded in September. Emergence patterns were determined by collecting pupae from a wild site and a commercial field at the time of peak fruit infestation. The following year, the wild-site and commercial-field populations showed distinct emergence periods that were in broad agreement with trap captures at these locations. Comparison of an allozyme locus, using individuals collected in commercial blueberry fields, both on Pherocon AM traps and from infested fruit, confirmed that these populations were R. mendax and not any of the sibling species with a similar flight period. These data show that there are considerable phenological differences between some R. mendax populations. Given this plasticity, current debates on evolutionary mechanisms in flies of the genus Rhagoletis Loew should consider that the flight period of R. mendax is probably neither a major limiting factor in the use of hosts with different fruiting schedules nor an effective premating isolation mechanism with respect to other sibling species.

Response of blueberry maggot fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) to imidacloprid-treated spheres and selected insecticides

2003 ◽  
Vol 135 (3) ◽  
pp. 427-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
O.E. Liburd ◽  
E.M. Finn ◽  
K.L. Pettit ◽  
J.C. Wise
Keyword(s):  
Untreated Control ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Time Lag ◽  
Field Tests ◽  
Vaccinium Corymbosum ◽  
Behavioural Activity ◽  
Rhagoletis Mendax ◽  
Attract And Kill ◽  
Highbush Blueberries ◽  
Blueberry Maggot Fly

AbstractImidacloprid-treated spheres and several classes of insecticides were evaluated in field and laboratory experiments to determine their effects on Rhagoletis mendax Curran adult behavioural activity and larval infestation in highbush blueberries, Vaccinium corymbosum L. (Ericaceae). In field tests, three treatments representing an attract-and-kill system (imidacloprid-treated spheres) and two classes of insecticides, including a naturalyte spinosad (SpinTor 2 SC) and organophosphates (Imidan®/Malathion), were evaluated against an untreated control. Significantly more blueberry maggot puparia were collected from untreated (control) plots than from other treatments evaluated. There were no significant differences in larval infestation of berries collected from plots treated with imidacloprid-treated spheres, SpinTor 2 SC, and Imidan®/Malathion. Less than 1% of the berries collected from imidacloprid-treated sphere plots and SpinTor 2 SC treated plots contained blueberry maggot larvae. In toxicity and fruit-injury studies, SpinTor 2 SC as well as additional compounds from various classes were evaluated, including a botanical [azadiractin (Ecozin 3%)], a particle film [kaolin clay (SurroundTM WP)], and three neonicotinoids [imidacloprid (Provado 1.6 F), thiocloprid (Calypso 480 SC), and thiamethoxam (PlatinumTM 2 SC and ActaraTM 25 WG)]. SpinTor 2 SC exhibited a time lag (18 h) in reducing R. mendax activity. Ecozin 3% and SurroundTM WP were ineffective in suppressing R. mendax adult activity, but numbers of larvae in SurroundTM WP treated fruit were significantly reduced. The effectiveness of neonicotinoid insecticides varied initially but resulted in equivalent levels of mortality after 48 h compared with our conventional organophosphate treatment of Guthion 50 WP. Oviposition scars on Provado 1.6 F treated plots were significantly more numerous than on plots treated with SpinTor 2 SC, Calypso 480 SC, Actara 25 WG, and Guthion 50 WP.

Temporal Dynamics of the Blueberry Maggot Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) and its Primary Parasitoid, Biosteres melleus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), in the Maine Wild Blueberry System

2019 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 720-730 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis A Drummond ◽  
Judith A Collins
Keyword(s):  
Predictive Model ◽  
Stable Equilibrium ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Equilibrium Dynamics ◽  
Rhagoletis Mendax ◽  
Parasitism Rates ◽  
Blueberry Maggot Fly ◽  
Rates Of Growth ◽  
Wild Blueberry ◽  
Insecticide Sprays

Abstract Between 1998 and 2017, we conducted studies in wild blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton (Ericales: Ericaceae), to elucidate the temporal dynamics of the blueberry maggot fly, Rhagoletis mendax Curran, and its parasitoid, Biosteres melleus (Gahan). A predictive model for the emergence of R. mendax was validated at two sites over 3 yr. A second predictive model for the major parasitoid, B. melleus, of R. mendax was constructed and suggests that the delay in emergence of the parasitoid relative to its host provides a period or ‘biological window’ of 9 d where insecticide sprays can be applied to manage R. mendax with a limited impact on the parasitoid. A 20-yr study on the parasitoid/host dynamics showed parasitism rates ranging from 0.5 to 28.2%. It appears that R. mendax populations in Maine wild blueberry are characterized by stable equilibrium dynamics, significantly affected by stochastic processes. There was a weak, but significant relationship between B. melleus density and R. mendax intrinsic rates of growth. Our data suggest that R. mendax population dynamics in wild blueberry is characterized by an unstable equilibrium tipping point of 7.9 maggots per liter of blueberries or an average of 10 flies per trap.

BIOSYSTEMATICS OF THE GENUS EUXOA (LEPIDOPTERA: NOCTUIDAE). XVIH. COMPARATIVE BIOLOGY AND EXPERIMENTAL TAXONOMY OF THE SIBLING SPECIES EUXOA RIDMGSIANA (GRT.) AND EUXOA MAIMES (SM.)

1985 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 481-493 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.R. Byers ◽  
D.L. Struble ◽  
J.D. Lafontaine
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Sibling Species ◽  
Mate Recognition ◽  
Recognition System ◽  
Flight Period ◽  
Interspecific Differences ◽  
Mate Recognition System ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Species Specific

AbstractThe species previously recognized as Euxoa ridingsiana (Grt.) is shown to be composed of a sympatric pair of sibling species, Euxoa ridingsiana (Grt.) and Euxoa maimes (Sm.), which in the laboratory will produce viable F1 hybrids but no F2. Results of F1 sib and backcrosses show that the F1 males are fertile and the F1 females are infertile. In mating-bias tests conducted in laboratory cages, 74% of matings were conspecific and 26% interspecific. Differences in the diel periodicities of mating, which are about 2 h out of phase, may account for the mating bias. The duration of development of E. ridingsiana in the laboratory and its seasonal flight period in the field are about 2 weeks in advance of that of E. maimes. However, there is considerable overlap of the flight periods and, with the tendency of females of both species to mate several times, it is unlikely that the difference in seasonal emergence is enough to effect reproductive isolation. It is evident that, under natural conditions, reproductive isolation can be maintained entirely by species-specific sex pheromones. This mechanism of reproductive isolation is, however, apparently ineffective when moths are confined in cages in the laboratory.Biogeographic considerations suggest that the differences in life-cycle timing and mating periodicities might have been adaptations to adjust development and reproduction to prevailing ancestral environments. If the initial differentiation of the 2 species occurred in isolation and included at least an incipient shift in the pheromonal mate-recognition system, it is possible that upon reestablishment of contact between ancestral populations the differences in life-cycle timing and mating periodicities acting in concert could have effected substantial, albeit incomplete, reproductive isolation. Subsequent selection to reinforce assortative mating to preserve coadapted gene complexes could then have resulted in differentiation of discrete pheromonal systems and attainment of species status.

scholarly journals Contact-Chemosensory Evolution Underlying Reproductive Isolation in Drosophila Species

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kosei Sato ◽  
Daisuke Yamamoto
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Mate Choice ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Sibling Species ◽  
Related Species ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Biological Factors ◽  
Premating Isolation ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
Neural Activities

The main theme of the review is how changes in pheromone biochemistry and the sensory circuits underlying pheromone detection contribute to mate choice and reproductive isolation. The review focuses primarily on gustatory and non-volatile signals in Drosophila. Premating isolation is prevalent among closely related species. In Drosophila, preference for conspecifics against other species in mate choice underlies premating isolation, and such preference relies on contact chemosensory communications between a female and male along with other biological factors. For example, although D. simulans and D. melanogaster are sibling species that yield hybrids, their premating isolation is maintained primarily by the contrasting effects of 7,11-heptacosadiene (7,11-HD), a predominant female pheromone in D. melanogaster, on males of the two species: it attracts D. melanogaster males and repels D. simulans males. The contrasting preference for 7,11-HD in males of these two species is mainly ascribed to opposite effects of 7,11-HD on neural activities in the courtship decision-making neurons in the male brain: 7,11-HD provokes both excitatory and inhibitory inputs in these neurons and differences in the balance between the two counteracting inputs result in the contrasting preference for 7,11-HD, i.e., attraction in D. melanogaster and repulsion in D. simulans. Introduction of two double bonds is a key step in 7,11-HD biosynthesis and is mediated by the desaturase desatF, which is active in D. melanogaster females but transcriptionally inactivated in D. simulans females. Thus, 7,11-HD biosynthesis diversified in females and 7,11-HD perception diversified in males, yet it remains elusive how concordance of the changes in the two sexes was attained in evolution.

Field Perimeter Trapping to Manage Rhagoletis mendax (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Wild Blueberry

2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (5) ◽  
pp. 2380-2389
Author(s):  
Francis A Drummond ◽  
Judith A Collins
Keyword(s):  
Computer Simulation Model ◽  
Double Row ◽  
Vaccinium Angustifolium ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Single Row ◽  
Rhagoletis Mendax ◽  
Major Pest ◽  
Blueberry Maggot Fly ◽  
Wild Blueberry ◽  
Trap Placement

Abstract Rhagoletis mendax Curran (the blueberry maggot fly) is a major pest of wild blueberry. It is a direct pest of the fruit. Females lay eggs in fruit resulting in infestations of larvae unacceptable to most consumers. Three field perimeter interception tactics were tested for control of R. mendax in wild blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton (Ericales: Ericaceae), between 2000 and 2010. We investigated field perimeter deployment of baited, insecticide-treated, green spheres (2000–2005), baited, yellow Trécé PHEROCON AM traps (2005 and 2006), and baited, Hopper Finder, sticky barrier tape (2008–2010). Only the Hopper Finder tape provided significant reduction in R. mendax adults and fruit infestation over the 3-yr field study. However, the reduction in fruit infestation compared with control plots was only 48.2 ± 7.3%, a level of reduction in damage that would be unsuitable for many commercial wild blueberry growers as a stand-alone tactic, but could be an important reduction as part of a multiple tactic IPM strategy. In addition, we constructed an agent-based computer simulation model to assess optimal trap placement between three patterns: 1) a single row of traps along field perimeter; 2) a double row of traps along the field perimeter at half the density of the single row; and 3) a grid of traps spread throughout the field but with the largest distance between traps. We found that the single row deployment pattern of traps was the best for reducing immigration of R. mendax adults into simulated fields.

scholarly journals Apple Maggot, Apple Maggot Fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) (Insecta: Diptera: Tephritidae)

EDIS ◽  
1969 ◽  
Vol 2004 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Howard V. Weems, Jr. ◽  
Thomas R. Fasulo
Keyword(s):  
Cooperative Extension Service ◽  
Extension Service ◽  
Rhagoletis Pomonella ◽  
Closely Related Species ◽  
University Of Florida ◽  
Apple Maggot Fly ◽  
The Past ◽  
Rhagoletis Mendax ◽  
Early Fall ◽  
Blueberry Maggot Fly

The apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) (also known as the "railroad worm") is an insect native to North America. Originally it fed in the fruit of wild hawthorn (Crataegus spp.), but during the past 130 years it has become a primary pest of cultivated apples, especially in the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Summer- and early fall-maturing varieties are particularly vulnerable, but hard winter apples are sometimes infested. Thin skinned sweet and subacid varieties are most susceptible, but acid varieties may be attacked. Plum, pear, and cherries also serve as hosts, but usually the apple maggot is not a serious pest of these fruits. Crab apples are invariably infested by this pest. A closely related species, the blueberry maggot fly (Rhagoletis mendax Curran), is important as a pest of cultivated blueberries. This document is EENY-261 (originally published as DPI Entomology Circular 126), one of a series of Featured Creatures from the Entomology and Nematology Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Published: January 2002.  EENY-261/IN505: Apple Maggot, Apple Maggot Fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) (Insecta: Diptera: Tephritidae) (ufl.edu)

scholarly journals Studies on Mating Preference and Productivity in Drosophila ananassae and D. pallidosa and Their Hybrids

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Roshni Singh ◽  
Bashisth Narayan Singh
Keyword(s):  
Gene Flow ◽  
Reproductive Isolation ◽  
Sibling Species ◽  
Mating Preference ◽  
Drosophila Ananassae ◽  
Reproductive Barriers ◽  
Premating Isolation ◽  
Cosmopolitan Species ◽  
Viable Offspring

During speciation different kinds of reproductive barriers originate to preclude gene flow between diverging populations. Reproductive isolation or barriers to gene flow can be categorized by the temporal nature of their effect: pre-zygotic barriers occur before fertilization and post-zygotic barriers occur after fertilization. In this study, we studied each components of reproductive isolation between D. ananassae and D. pallidosa, including both pre-zygotic and post-zygotic barriers. Because it might be possible that by dissecting these barriers one can get the answers of many unresolved questions related to the process of speciation of these two sibling species. We reported premating isolation because females of both D. ananassae and D. pallidosa were more discriminative for mating against the alien males rather than conspecific males, and this discrimination was much stronger in case of D. ananassae females for being the ancestral and cosmopolitan species. We also did not find any decrease in the production of progeny or viable offspring in comparison to conspecific males, indicating a lack of postmating prezygotic isolating barriers. Further, there is no complete lack of intrinsic post-zygotic isolation between these species or not complete presence of post-zygotic isolation, as both the hybrid sons were producing less number of progeny in comparison to all the crosses but it is near to significant but not significant and this is contrasting to the results of a previous study.

Dispersal From Overwintering Sites, Action Thresholds for Blueberry Maggot Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae), and Factors That Can Influence Variation in Predicted Fruit Infestation Levels in Maine Wild Blueberry: Part I

2019 ◽  
Vol 113 (2) ◽  
pp. 851-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis A Drummond ◽  
Judith A Collins
Keyword(s):  
Field Studies ◽  
Site Quality ◽  
Physiological Status ◽  
Rhagoletis Mendax ◽  
Action Threshold ◽  
Action Thresholds ◽  
The University ◽  
Blueberry Maggot Fly ◽  
Wild Blueberry ◽  
Overwintering Site

Abstract Between 1996 and 2003 field studies were conducted in wild blueberry, Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton (Ericales: Ericaceae) to determine action thresholds for the blueberry maggot fly, Rhagoletis mendax Curran (Diptera: Tephritidae). Thresholds were based upon cumulative fly trap captures on baited Pherocon AM traps. The cumulative numbers of R. mendax flies captured over time was a significant predictor of infested fruit levels (maggots/liter blueberries). Fifty percent of the variance in fruit infestation is explained by fly captures. Based upon this relationship, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension has recommended action threshold of 10 cumulative fly captures/trap. However, this threshold is liberal in terms of risk as only 50% of the variance in fruit infestation is explained by fly captures. The dynamics of colonization rate and fly physiological status entering fruit-bearing fields might partially explain the variance in the action threshold. The majority of flies emerge from pruned fields or along forest scrub/shrub field edges, and it takes between 1 and 10 d (mean = 4.1 ± 0.9 d) for the populations to enter adjacent fruit-bearing fields. Flies dispersed from pruned fields at a decreasing rate the farther they dispersed. The rate of dispersal into fruit-bearing wild blueberry fields also depends upon the overwintering site quality. Sites with fruit exhibited both delayed colonization and lower colonization rates into fruit-bearing fields than adjacent pruned fields with no fruit. We also found that as the season progressed the proportion of flies capable of laying eggs varied greatly by location and year.

Oviposition-deterring pheromone deposited on blueberry fruit by the parasitic wasp, Diachasma alloeum

Behaviour ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 144 (4) ◽  
pp. 429-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Limited Resource ◽  
Apple Fruit ◽  
Chemical Signals ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Rhagoletis Mendax ◽  
Fruit Skin ◽  
Diachasma Alloeum ◽  
Blueberry Maggot Fly ◽  
Braconid Wasp ◽  
Ethanol In Water

Insect parasitoids are known to deposit chemical signals on utilized hosts following oviposition. It is believed that these chemical signals alert future conspecifics of an exploited and thus sub-optimal host alleviating potential suffering among brood that would otherwise compete over a limited resource. Diachasma alloeum (Muesebeck) is a braconid wasp that specifically attacks two species of fruit-parasitic flies in the genus Rhagoletis . Female wasps lay a single egg into a second or third instar fly maggot developing in blueberry, hawthorn, or apple fruit. Following oviposition, female wasps press and drag their ovipositor across the fruit surface depositing a clear liquid; this has been termed 'excreting' behaviour. In this report, we describe excreting behaviour in a field population of D. alloeum attacking the blueberry maggot fly, Rhagoletis mendax Curran. Subsequently, we demonstrate in a series of laboratory assays that D. alloeum females deposit a substance on blueberry fruit directly following egg laying that deters subsequent naïve females from ovipositing into the marked fruit. Marking fruit with this putative oviposition-deterring pheromone without associated egg laying was sufficient to induce the deterring effect, while oviposition alone without subsequent marking had no effect. The oviposition-deterring effect was removed by rinsing fruit with a solution of 50% ethanol in water. Spraying unmarked fruit with an ethanol-water rinsate of previously-marked berries induced the oviposition-deterring effect. Significant deterrence of oviposition lasted up to 7 days after marking. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a hymenopteran oviposition-deterring pheromone that is deposited externally on the surface of the fruit skin rather than on the surface of the parasitized larva. Female D. alloeum maximally parasitize second-instar R. mendax larvae during a short 4-5 d window. The length of activity of the oviposition-deterring pheromone described here should be sufficient to prevent multiple egg-laying into a host that cannot support more than one parasitoid larva, and thus reduce intraspecific competition. Insect parasitoids are known to deposit chemical signals on utilized hosts following oviposition. It is believed that these chemical signals alert future conspecifics of an exploited and thus sub-optimal host alleviating potential suffering among brood that would otherwise compete over a limited resource. Diachasma alloeum (Muesebeck) is a braconid wasp that specifically attacks two species of fruit-parasitic flies in the genus Rhagoletis . Female wasps lay a single egg into a second or third instar fly maggot developing in blueberry, hawthorn, or apple fruit. Following oviposition, female wasps press and drag their ovipositor across the fruit surface depositing a clear liquid; this has been termed 'excreting' behaviour. In this report, we describe excreting behaviour in a field population of D. alloeum attacking the blueberry maggot fly, Rhagoletis mendax Curran. Subsequently, we demonstrate in a series of laboratory assays that D. alloeum females deposit a substance on blueberry fruit directly following egg laying that deters subsequent naïve females from ovipositing into the marked fruit. Marking fruit with this putative oviposition-deterring pheromone without associated egg laying was sufficient to induce the deterring effect, while oviposition alone without subsequent marking had no effect. The oviposition-deterring effect was removed by rinsing fruit with a solution of 50% ethanol in water. Spraying unmarked fruit with an ethanol-water rinsate of previously-marked berries induced the oviposition-deterring effect. Significant deterrence of oviposition lasted up to 7 days after marking. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration of a hymenopteran oviposition-deterring pheromone that is deposited externally on the surface of the fruit skin rather than on the surface of the parasitized larva. Female D. alloeum maximally parasitize second-instar R. mendax larvae during a short 4-5 d window. The length of activity of the oviposition-deterring pheromone described here should be sufficient to prevent multiple egg-laying into a host that cannot support more than one parasitoid larva, and thus reduce intraspecific competition.

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