Electronic multi-entry identification key for dacine (Diptera, Tephritidae, Dacinae) fruit fly larvae of quarantine importance.
The key contains characters to differentiate between larvae of twelve fruit fly species of the subfamily Dacinae, that are considered to be of quarantine significance. Flies of significance to the EU and southern Africa were chosen due to overlapping climatic conditions and horticultural crops between the two regions, as well as the two regions being major trading partners. Due to limited characters to view on the soft-bodied fruit fly larvae, most characters used in this key rely on distance measurements of the cephalo-pharyngeal skeleton. This key is composed within the framework of the EU H2020 project “FF-IPM” (In-silico boosted pest prevention off-season focus IPM against new and emerging fruit flies, H2020 grant agreement Nr 818184. See https://fruitflies-ipm.eu/) and the STDF (The Standards and Trade Development Facility) project F3: ‘FRUIT FLY FREE’ (Establishment and maintenance of fruit production areas free and under low prevalence of fruit fly pests in Southern Africa) https://www.arc.agric.za/arc-itsc/Fruit%20Fly%20Free/Pages/default.aspx. The short list of twelve species includes the target fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata, C. rosa, C.quilicii, Bactrocera dorsalis, B. zonata and Zeugodacus curcurbitae) and a number of species closely related to these. It was composed after consultation with different potential end-users (NPPOs, the European Reference Laboratories for Insects and Mites, EPPO), as well as being dependent on availability of large sets of larvae for measurement. In addition, a condensed datasheet for each species is provided with the basic information regarding morphology.
FUNDING AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: The development of the key was largely funded by the project Nr 818184 ‘OFF-Season’ FF-IPM and the project F3: ‘FRUIT FLY FREE’ STDF. They key is illustrated with high resolution images specifically for the purpose of the development of this key. The main image used on the front screen of the APP was taken by Antoine Franck of CIRAD, France and depicts larvae of Bactrocera dorsalis. We would like to thank the various colleagues and collaborators who contributed at various stages in the development of this key (in alphabetical order): Carlos Careres, Anthony Clarke, Marc de Meyer, Helene Delatte, Yoav Gazit, Tertia Grove, Mahfuza Khan, Rick Kurashima, Zhihong Li, Aruna Manrakhan, Nikos Papadopoulos, Rui Pereira Cardoso, Parhs Prekas, Leani Serfontein, Ahmad Sohel, Massimiliano Virgilio and Yue Zhang.
DISCLAIMER: The key and factsheets are made freely accessible. The authors take, however, no responsibility for any legal, economic, or agricultural consequences by consequent actions or decisions made from using this key or factsheets. The user is solely responsible for the scientific interpretation, or any regulatory decision derived from information provided in this tool. It is recommended that the user seeks a professional identification confirmation should there be any far-reaching decisions depending on identification made by using this tool.
Photograph (splash & home screen): Bactrocera dorsalis, Copyright A. Franck, CIRAD.
