Queensland fruit fly
Bactrocera tryoni
Queensland fruit fly
Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni), or qfly, is a native of Australia where it is considered to be the country's most serious insect pest of fruit and vegetable crops. The species is found in the eastern areas of Queensland and New South Wales and the extreme east of Victoria. Queensland fruit fly has also dispersed into Pacific countries such as New Caledonia via human activity.
Background
Fruit flies belong to the family Tephritidae, which includes over 4,500 species. Queensland fruit fly is one of the most potent pests in that it infests more than 100 species of fruit. Hosts include commercial crops such as avocado, citrus, feijoa, grape, peppers, persimmon, pipfruit, stonefruit and walnut.
A wide range of commercial, ornamental and wild hosts is attacked by this species. This wide host range enables large populations of Bactrocera tryoni to develop in forest areas which then act as reservoirs for invasions into crops.
Eggs are laid beneath the skin of host fruit. These hatch within 2 to 3 days and the larvae feed for a further 10 to 31 days. Pupation occurs in the soil and is dependent on temperature. Adult flight and the transport of infested fruit are the principal means of movement and dispersal to previously uninfected areas. Up to 70 individuals have been reported as developing from a single fruit.
An incursion of Queensland fruit fly would have serious consequences for New Zealand’s horticultural industry. An incursion in key fruit-growing regions is likely to have a significant effect on the New Zealand economy with potential job losses and eradication costing millions. Various strains of fruit fly cause extensive damage worldwide to horticultural crops, and is considered a significant quarantine pest worldwide which could result in our trading partners suspending horticultural exports from New Zealand. For example, a Mediterranean fruit fly incursion in Auckland in 1996 resulted in nations such as China banning New Zealand fruit for a year.
MAFBNZ operates a lure based surveillance trapping system. Traps are concentrated in populated areas serving as centres for tourism and/or trade, areas of significant horticultural activity and areas specified as being climatically conducive to the establishment of fruit fly. This system involves over 7500 traps nationwide.
Import Requirements
Fruit fly is most likely to arrive with plane passengers bringing infested fruit in luggage or in shipments of fruit.
Import health standards contain measures to prevent the introduction of exotic fruit flies into New Zealand. Further information on the mitigation measures for fruit fly on the fresh produce pathway can be found in the following import health standard:
All host material of Queensland fruit fly can only be imported under the terms of a bilateral quarantine arrangement between MAFBNZ and the exporting country's national plant protection organisation. These agreements include descriptions of approved pre-export treatment systems and certification requirements.
Further Information
- Fruit fly alert: Vigilant scout does the right thing
- Fruit fly: A major threat to New Zealand's fruit and vegetable industries?
Page last updated: 22 October 2008