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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #237654
Title: Long distance movement of Bactroceira dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Puna, Hawaii: How far can they go?

Author
item PECK, STEVEN - BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
item FROERER, KAREN - BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY
item McQuate, Grant
item Vargas, Roger
item McInnis, Donald
item Jang, Eric

Submitted to: American Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/19/2010
Publication Date: 6/30/2010
Citation: Peck, S., Froerer, K., Mcquate, G.T., Vargas, R.I., Mcinnis, D.O., Jang, E.B. 2010. Long distance movement of Bactroceira dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Puna, Hawaii: How far can they go? American Entomologist 56:88-94.

Interpretive Summary: Interpretive summary: The invasive oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendell), is considered a major economic threat in many regions world-wide including the island of Hawaii, in the Hawaiian archipelago. Large populations helped initiate USDA-ARS (United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service) area-wide programs designed to monitor and suppress the species. There is also some discussion concerning the feasibility of eradication of the oriental fruit fly in areas on the island of Hawaii. An important aspect of population suppression is concerned with the ability of a species to move long distances. Suppression of an area may be futile if source populations outside of that area are capable of moving into and re-establishing populations within the suppression area. While most movement studies focus on the short distance dispersal of flies from a single release point, this study aimed to explore the longer tails of the dispersal distribution suspected for many tephritids. The study showed that a few flies (30) dispersed between 2-11 Km from the release point. These long dispersals demonstrate that these flies are indeed capable of long-distance movement which must be taken into account when creating buffer zones around fruit fly free or reduced prevalence zones.

Technical Abstract: Technical Abstract: The invasive oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendell), is considered a major economic threat in many regions world-wide including the island of Hawaii, in the Hawaiian archipelago. Large populations helped initiate USDA-ARS (United States Department of Agriculture – Agricultural Research Service) area-wide programs designed to monitor and suppress the species. There is also some discussion concerning the feasibility of eradication of the oriental fruit fly in areas on the island of Hawaii. An important aspect of population suppression is concerned with the ability of a species to move long distances. Suppression of an area may be futile if source populations outside of that area are capable of moving into and re-establishing populations within the suppression area. While most movement studies focus on the short distance dispersal of flies from a single release point, this study aimed to explore the longer tails of the dispersal distribution suspected for many tephritids. Four releases of double-marked, sterile, laboratory-reared oriental fruit flies (consisting of ca. 215,000 flies in total) were completed, with one week in between each release. The releases took place at four different locations within the Puna District on the island of Hawaii at distances between 5 – 10 km from an experimental fruit fly suppression zone. Flies from methyl eugenol traps and protein bait traps were collected on the first and fourth days after each release and examined for the mark. A total of 1917 flies were recovered, with thirty flies recovered at distances between 2 km – 11.39 km from the point of release. These long distance recaptures aid in understanding the long tails of spatial distribution of fly movement that have been suspected of this species and help in considering the dimensions of surrounding buffer zones that would be needed for the establishment of fruit fly free or reduced prevalence zones.