Bactrocera passiflorae

Taxonomy

Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) passiflorae (Froggatt, 1911)
Preferred common name: Fijian fruit fly
Synonyms:
   Dacus passiflorae (original combination in Froggatt, 1911)
   Chaetodacus passiflorae (subsequent combination in Bezzi, 1928)
   Strumeta passiflorae (subsequent combination in Perkins, 1937)

There is an undescribed species that is morphologically highly similar to B. passiflorae and has been reported in the literature as B. passiflorae but only partially matches its distribution (Leblanc pers. comm.).

Morphology-based identification

Bactrocera passiflorae can be distinguished reliably based on morphology from other described Dacini, but it is unclear how it can be distinguished from the undescribed species. Spot characters are the black postpronotal lobes, wide mesopleural stripe that reaches the postpronotal lobes, lack of yellow vittae on the scutum, and lack of dark markings on the face.

Molecular identification

Bactrocera passiflorae is known to have a nuclear pseudogene copy of COI, which can be amplified when universal primers are used (Li et al. 2020Li et al. 2020:
Li D, McCarthy B, Gunawardana DN, Waite DW, Anderson D, George S, 2020. Molecular identification of Bactrocera passiflorae (Diptera: Tephritidae): Challenge and solution for DNA barcoding. Journal of Applied Entomology: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12801). This issue can be circumvented with alternative PCR primers, see Li et al. (2020)Li et al. (2020):
Li D, McCarthy B, Gunawardana DN, Waite DW, Anderson D, George S, 2020. Molecular identification of Bactrocera passiflorae (Diptera: Tephritidae): Challenge and solution for DNA barcoding. Journal of Applied Entomology: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1111/jen.12801 for details. However, until the taxonomic situation is clarified, only preliminary identifications can be made using COI.

Distribution

Bactrocera passiflorae is present in the South Pacific on the islands of Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, and Niue. The undescribed species is present on Fiji, Tokelau, Tonga (Niuas group), and Tuvalu.

Further information

Bactrocera passiflorae is listed as a "category B" polyphagous pest in Vargas et al. (2015)Vargas et al. (2015):
Vargas RI, Pinero JC, Leblanc L, 2015. An overview of pest species of Bactrocera fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and the integration of biopesticides with other biological approaches for their management with a focus on the pacific region. Insects 6: 297–318. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects6020297. A category B pest is there defined as "polyphagous fruit pests or destructive specialists more restricted in distribution, but at elevated risk of spreading to new locations".

The undescribed species (as B. passiflorae sp. nr.) is listed as a "category C" oligophagous pest in Vargas et al. (2015)Vargas et al. (2015):
Vargas RI, Pinero JC, Leblanc L, 2015. An overview of pest species of Bactrocera fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and the integration of biopesticides with other biological approaches for their management with a focus on the pacific region. Insects 6: 297–318. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects6020297. A category C pest is there defined as "relatively minor oligophagous or specialist fruit or cucurbit pests".