Taxonomy
Valid name:
Zeugodacus (
Zeugodacus)
caudatus (Fabricius, 1805)
Preferred common name: mustache fruit fly
Synonyms:
Dacus caudatus (original combination in Fabricius, 1805)
Bactrocera caudata (subsequent combination in Bezzi, 1913)
Chaetodacus caudatus (subsequent combination in Bezzi, 1914)
Bactrocera maculipennis Doleschall, 1856 (junior synonym)
Chaetodacus maculipennis (subsequent combination in Bezzi, 1916)
Dacus maculipennis (subsequent combination in Bezzi, 1909)
Zeugodacus maculipennis (subsequent combination in Perkins, 1937)
Morphology-based identification
Zeugodacus caudatus can be identified reliably using morphological characters. Spot characters are black base color of the scutum, two pairs of setae on the scutellum, and a narrow black (mustache-like) band across the face.
Molecular identification
COI sequence data can be used to identify
Z. caudatus (
Doorenweerd et al. 2024Doorenweerd et al. 2024:
Doorenweerd C, San Jose M, Leblanc L, Barr N, Geib SM, Chung AYC, Dupuis JR, Ekayanti A, Fiegalan E, Hemachandra KS, Hossain MA, Huang C, Hsu Y, Morris KY, Maryani A. Mustapeng A, Niogret J, Pham TH, Thi Nguyen N, Sirisena UGAI, Todd T, Rubinoff D, 2024. Towards a better future for DNA barcoding: Evaluating monophyly‐ and distance‐based species identification using COI gene fragments of Dacini fruit flies. Molecular Ecology Resources 24: e13987. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13987).
Distribution
Zeugodacus caudatus is widespread in Southeast Asia from India to Taiwan and south to the Lesser Sundas in Indonesia.
Further information
Zeugodacus caudatus is reported as a "category C" pest of Cucurbitaceae flowers 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 C pest is there defined as "relatively minor oligophagous or specialist fruit or cucurbit pests".
