Validation of degree‐day models for predicting the emergence of two fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in northeast Egypt

Abstract

We estimated thermal developmental thresholds (T 0) and degree-day (DD) constants for the immature stages of two tephritid pests, Bactrocera zonata (Saunders) and Ceratitis capitata (Weidenmann). Males of both species were trapped in an Egyptian guava orchard during the fruiting seasons of 2016 and 2017 and trap catches were compared with peak flights predicted by the DD model based on local weather data. Ceratitis capitata had faster development than B. zonata at 20 and 25°C, but their overall developmental rate was similar at 30 and 35°C. The thermal threshold of development (T 0) of B. zonata was higher than that of C. capitata, indicating greater sensitivity to cold. Although 35°C yielded the fastest development of both species, survival was higher at 30°C, with B. zonata experiencing a slight advantage, suggesting better tropical adaptation. Immature development of B. zonata and C. capitata was estimated to require 338 and 373 d, respectively, and 616 and 424 DD for a complete generation. Trap catches over both seasons showed good correspondence to peaks of fly activity predicted by the DD models; deviations from expectation ranged from 0 to 7 d for both fly species. Both species had four overlapping generations per season, with B. zonata abundance peaking in the first generation in both years, but only in 2016 for C. capitata. The models predict about eight and 12 generations per year in northeast Egypt for B. zonata and C. capitata, respectively. These models should be useful for timing pest control measures to coincide with periods of peak fly activity in fruit orchards.

COI Haplotyping and Comparative Microbiomics of the Peach Fruit Fly, an Emerging Pest of Egyptian Olive Orchards

“…Spreading westward from South-East Asia, the pest was established in the Middle East and North-East Africa with important populations in Egypt and Sudan. Extensive modeling identified the coastal areas of the Mediterranean basin as potential locations for the climate change-driven proliferation of B. zonata [7,[10][11][12]. Similar proliferation routes have been reported previously for other invasive tephritid species such as the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) [13].…”

Diversity of fruit fly species in agricultural area Chott Zahrez Chergui (Djel-fa): First record of Trupanea amoena (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Algeria

“…In the Comoros archipelago, high densities of fruit fly populations were observed during the hot season, compared with the cold season (Mze Hassani et al, 2016). In contrast, the phenological synchronicity of a high fly pest population and fruit maturity is critical for the fruiting season and hence for growers (Anderson et al, 2021), as indicated by Mwatawala et al (2006) in fruit orchards in Morogoro Region (Tanzania, East of Africa). These authors mention that the fruit flies populations present high numbers of flies coinciding with their fruiting season.…”

Coping with global warming: Adult thermal thresholds in four pestiferous Anastrepha species determined under experimental laboratory conditions and development/survival times of immatures and adults under natural field conditions

“…The pioneering studies by Darby and Kapp (1933) , McPhail and Bliss (1933) , Meats (1976) , Meats (1984) , Meats (1989) , among others stand out in this respect. Other studies on temperature relationships on various biological attributes have been performed with the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann ( Duyck and Quilici, 2002 ; Nyamukondiwa and Terblanche, 2009 ), the Olive fly, Bactrocera oleae Gmelin ( Genç and Nation, 2008 ; Wang et al, 2012 ), the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) ( Samayoa et al, 2018 ; Motswagole et al, 2019 ; Rashmi et al, 2020 ), the Apple Maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) ( Reissig et al, 1979 ; Kasana and AliNiazee, 1994 ; Drummond and Collins, 2019 ) and various other species ( Liu and Ye, 2009 ; Adly, 2016 ; Rull et al, 2016 ; Bayoumy et al, 2021 ). Broadly speaking, temperature affects the reproduction and development of tephritid flies ( Telles-Romero et al, 2011 ; Bolzan et al, 2017 ; Fiaboe et al, 2021), mainly by influencing the metabolic processes that are linked to their development ( Moloń et al, 2020 ).…”