The Chinese citrus fly, Bactrocera minax (Enderlein) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is the most destructive citrus pest in many citrus production areas in China. The pest is oligophagous, feeding exclusively on the fruits of citrus plants. The pest is univoltine, with adults emerging during April to May and overwintering as pupae. Evidence suggests that the region of origin of the species might be in the elevated temperate southern Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, spreading out through China's major waterway systems. Currently, B. minax occurs in nine citrus producing provinces in China, but mostly prominently in the five south central provinces or municipalities of Guizhou, Hubei, Hunan, Sichuan, and Chongqing. Fruit infestations in these provinces are generally moderate to severe. The species is not reported in the four southern citrus production provinces of Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Hainan (island). Orchard sanitation such as collection and treatment of the fallen and hanging infested fruits, mass trapping by using various food-based traps with insecticides, and foliar and ground insecticide sprays are the primary pest management options. Sterile insect technology was studied in the field in the 1980s to 1990s, with promising outcomes. The two highly attractive kairomone lures used for many Bactrocera species, cuelure or methyl eugenol, are not attractive to this species. Hydrolyzed protein, sugar and vinegar mixture, and waste brewer's yeast are the most common lures being used in China. Published data indicated that the quality and efficacy of these lures are inconsistent and disputable. Visual cue lures such as colored sticky spheres are also being used in the field. Preliminary field studies suggested that female rectum extracts demonstrated high attraction to males as well as females of the species. Phytosanitary treatment studies in China focus on irradiation and cold treatment. The outcomes of irradiation appeared promising. When B. minax larvae were treated with an irradiation dose of 50 Gy, no adults emerged from the surviving pupae and larvae failed to pupate when the dose reached 70 Gy. No fruit quality was impacted by the treatment. Results from several small-scale cold treatment studies were less promising and inconsistent. One study indicated that under 0˚C constant treatment, no mortality of 3rd instar larvae occurred until day 12, and only 55% mortality occurred by day 22. The scientific and technological gaps in safeguarding US citrus industry from the invasion of this destructive pest include: 1) lack of effective lures for early detection and emergency responses; 2) insufficient work on phytosanitary treatment techniques; and 3) weak definition of and lack of data for B. minax pest free areas in China.

Estimates of pupation depth and survival of the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), are important for optimizing soil control and for better understanding its natural mortality in the agricultural system of Guangzhou, China. Late third-instar larvae were placed in soils having relative moistures of 0-100% for pupation. No pupae were found on the surface at soil moistures of 0-70%. Instead, more than 50% of the larvae pupated on the surface at soil moistures of 80, 90, and 100%. Most of the larvae preferred to pupate in less than 4 cm of the soils, while relatively few larvae moved more than 4 cm when the soils received too little water or too much water. The survival rate of pupae at 70% moisture level was low, and the pupae were unable to survive at soil moistures of 0, 80, 90, and 100%, while emergence rates exceeded 90% at the conditions of 10-60% moisture levels. Moreover, soil moistures had an influence on the average time to emergence (average time between the larvae release and the emergence of adults). Adult flies at 30% moisture level emerged earlier than those at the other moisture levels, whereas the average time to emergence at 70% moisture level was the longest.

Responses of late third instars of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), to high temperatures (43, 46, and 48 degrees C) were investigated. The different heat exposures not only affected the timing of death but also induced different quantities of malformed puparia and changed the average eclosion time. A majority of larvae died immediately (as larvae) after 30 min at 46 degrees C and > or =15 min at 48 degrees C, whereas most individuals died as pupae after 10-25 min of 46 degrees C, 5-10 min of 48 degrees C, and 40-60 min of 43 degrees C treatments. Lethal times estimated by immediate mortality were longer than those estimated by delayed mortality at the same high temperature. Surviving larvae formed four types of puparial morphology (normal, bottlenose, larviform, and peanut form). The percentage of normal puparia showed a negative correlation with exposure time at all test temperatures. The number of bottlenose was more than the larviform and the peanut at 46 degrees C for < or =20 min and at 48 degrees C for < or =10 min, respectively, whereas the number of larviform was more than the bottlenose and the peanut at 46 degrees C and 48 degrees C for longer exposure times. The average eclosion time increased at first, then decreased as the exposure time prolonged, and the longest average eclosion time occurred in the 40-min exposure at 43 degrees C, 15-min exposure at 46 degrees C, and 10-min exposure at 48 degrees C.

The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), is considered one of the most invasive tephritid species. It has spread and established populations successfully throughout many of the tropical temperate regions, partially owing to the increase in global trading activity that facilitates diffusion of species. However, C. capitata has never been detected in China, even though some areas of the country have favorable climate and ample food resources. Historically, some researchers have hypothesized that the principal reasons for its absence are the defenses mounted by native Bactrocera species against C. capitata. We evaluated the modes and strengths of interspecific competition between C. capitata and two Bactrocera species (Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel and Bactrocera correcta Bezzi) by conducting experiments on behavioral interference between the adults of these fruit fly species. Under appropriate conditions, the two Bactrocera species showed a distinct advantage in competition for oviposition, noticeably suppressing C. capitata. Although no mating interference between C. capitata and the two Bactrocera species was observed, the role of interference competition in the prevention of C. capitata invasion is still worthy of being discussed.