Blooms of Hawaii's banana poka, Passiflora tripartita var. tripartita, grown at Ipiales, Colombia were found suitable for the completion of the life cycle of the fly Zapriothrica sp. The tubular flowers were an ideal habitat for the mating and reproduction of this minute Andean fly. Oviposition occurred only on immature flowers 30‐20 days from bud opening. Eggs hatched 10–13 days after oviposition. Larvae averaged 1.3 × 0.3 mm at hatching, and 15 days after hatching at the end of the third larva instar averaged 5.2 × 1.0 mm. The light‐brown pupa averaged 3.6 × 1.3 mm and required 40–45 days for completion of this stage. Adult flies averaged 5.1 × 1.3 mm and their life span was 7–10 days in captivity and 5–8 days in field cages. Mating was inside the flower tube and a minimum of five pairs of adults were required for copulation. Other Passiflora spp. of high elevation with tubular flowers were host of the insect. However, campanulate flowers, e.g., P. edulis, P. ligularis, and P. alnifolia did not elicit any response whatsoever for feeding, aggregation, mating or oviposition. The dropping of immature flower‐buds caused by this insect in P. tripartita v. mollissima and P. tripartita v. tripartita was 60–80% in Colombian and Ecuadorian curuba farms with high pest populations.
Surveys were conducted between 1982 and 1995 on banana poka, Passiflora mollissima Bailey (also known as P. tarminiana, subgenus Tacsonia) and related species in the Andes Mountains of South America. The objective was to identify potential biocontrol agents for control of banana poka in Hawaii, USA. Host-related insect diversity was greatest in Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela, and poorest in Bolivia and Chile. Insect species observed represented eight orders, 35 families and approximately 67 species. Fifteen species were evaluated as potential biocontrol agents, of which five received in-depth testing. Two moths, Cyanotrica necyria Felder and Rogenhofer (Lepidoptera; Notodontidae) and Pyrausta perelegans Hampson (Lepidoptera; Pyralidae), were approved and released in Hawaii in 1988 and 1991, respectively; however, C. necyria did not establish and Pyr. perelegans established but has had negligible impact. A third moth, Josia fluonia Druce, J. ligata group (Lepidoptera; Notodontidae), had been approved for release and two flies, Dasiops caustonae Norrbom and McAlpine (Diptera; Lonchaeidae) and Zapriothrica nr. salebrosa Wheeler (Diptera; Drosophilidae), were undergoing final evaluation when the programme was terminated. A pathogen, Septoria passiflorae Syd., was released in 1996, with mixed results. Banana poka remains a serious weed pest in Hawaii.
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