Taxonomy
Valid name:
Bactrocera (
Bactrocera)
speculifer (Walker, 1865)
Preferred common name: None
Synonyms:
Dacus speculifer (original combination in Walker, 1865)
Bactrocera speculifera (unjustified emendation in Drew & Romig, 2013)
Morphology-based identification
Bactrocera speculifer is very similar to
B. curvifer, but can be distinguished based on the central band across the wing, which is wider in
B. speculifer. A spot character for both is the extensive wing pattern, covering most of the wing (superficially similar to
B. umbrosa), and a mostly yellow tergite 2 but all black tergites 3-5 of the abdomen. A third species that can be confused based on a similar wing pattern is
B. seguyi, but that species is distinguished by a yellow abdomen with a central black line and lateral black markings on tergite 3-5.
Molecular identification
There are no molecular reference data available for
B. speculifer. A COI reference sequence for
B. curvifer is available in
Starkie et al. 2022aStarkie et al. 2022a:
Starkie ML, Cameron SL, Krosch MN, Phillips MJ, Royer JE, Schutze MK, Strutt F, Sweet AD, Zalucki MP, Clarke AR, 2022. A comprehensive phylogeny helps clarify the evolutionary history of host breadth and lure response in the Australian Dacini fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 172: 107481. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2022.107481 .
Distribution
Bactrocera speculifer is known from New Guinea, which is its presumed native distribution.
Bactrocera curvifer is known from New Guinea and the Molukas in Indonesia, which is its presumed native distribution.
Further information
Bactrocera speculifer is reported as a "category D" pest of breadfruit in
Vargas et al. 2015Vargas 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 D pest is there defined as "species that have been occasionally bred from commercial/edible fruit or cucurbits".
