Bactrocera latifrons and B. pruniae

Taxonomy

Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) latifrons (Hendel, 1915)
Preferred common name: tomato fruit fly
Synonyms:
   Chaetodacus latifrons (original combination in Hendel, 1915)
   Dacus latifrons Hardy & Adachi, 1954 (subsequent combination)
   Strumeta latifrons (subsequent combination in Perkins, 1937)
Chaetodacus antennalis Shiraki, 1933 (junior synonym)
   Strumeta antennalis (subsequent combination in Perkins, 1937)
Dacus amoyensis Froggatt, 1909 (unavailable name)

Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) pruniae Drew & Romig, 2013
Preferred common name: None
Synonyms: None

Bactrocera pruniae was described from 14 specimens reared from peach in Northern Vietnam in the year 2000. Its morphological similarity B. latifrons and lack of further records despite being reared from peach warrants further study of its taxonomic status.

Morphology-based identification

A spot character for B. latifrons and B. pruniae is the almost completely yellow abdomen without a black (dorsalis-like) 'T' mark. Confusion with the Australian species in the B. musae 'species complex' (sensu Drew 1989Drew 1989:
Drew RAI, 1989. The tropical fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae: Dacinae) of the Australasian and Oceanian regions. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 1: 1–521.
), which have similarly yellow abdomens, is possible. Bactrocera musae can be distinguished by having the costal band cross vein R2+3, whereas it is confluent with R2+3 in B. latifrons and B. pruniae. Bactrocera latifrons can be distinguished from B. pruniae by the females having a trilobed ovipositor apex, which is pointed in B. pruniae, and B. latifrons typically has a black spot on the front femur and yellow mid femur, which are all dark in B. pruniae.

Molecular identification

COI sequence data can be used to reliably identify B. latifrons (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
). There are no molecular reference data available for B. pruniae.

Distribution

Bactrocera latifrons is widespread in Southeast Asia from India to Taiwan and south to Indonesia. It has been introduced into Hawaii, Japan, and Kenya and Tanzania in Africa. Bactrocera pruniae is only known from northern Vietnam.

Further information

Bactrocera latifrons is reported as a "category A" polyphagous pest in Vargas et al. (2015)Vargas 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 A pest is defined as "widespread invasive polyphagous generalists or highly destructive specialists that have become established outside of their native range". It is one of the few Dacini that primarily attacks Solanaceae, including tomato and bell pepper, but has been reared from a wide range of fruits including citrus, cucurbits, apple, banana, passionfruit, and pomegranate.

Bactrocera pruniae is reported as a "category D" pest of peach in Vietnam in Vargas et al. (2015)Vargas 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".

 Scientific illustration of  B. pruniae .
Scientific illustration of B. pruniae.
 Scientific illustration of  B. latifrons .
Scientific illustration of B. latifrons.
 Photo plate of  B. latifrons.
Photo plate of B. latifrons.
 Photo plate of  B. pruniae .
Photo plate of B. pruniae.