Australian Table Grape Association Inc.
3/120 Eighth Street, Mildura
Queensland fruit fly (Bactorcera tryoni, Qfly) is a major pest of fruit and vegetable crops across the eastern states of Australia. It causes significant damage to a wide range of fruits, including grapes.
For table grape growers, fruit fly is one of the major pests of concern for both the domestic and export markets. A single fruit fly anywhere in Australia costs the industry both financially and by reputation as a producer of high-quality clean, safe produce.
Australian table grape growers have implemented strong integrated pest and disease management programs to combat Qfly. A combination of management strategies, including cultural, biological, chemical and trapping methods, is important for successfully controlling Qfly, as well as understanding the behaviour and life cycle of the pest.
In Australia there are hundreds of fruit fly species; however, only two main species – Qfly and Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) – are considered to cause the greatest economic threats
Mediterranean fruit fly occurs only in the west (in parts of Western Australia) but outbreaks and detections have been found in South Australia in previous years.
Queensland fruit fly (Qfly) is native to Australia and inhabits eastern Australia, throughout parts of the Northern Territory, Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.
While Qfly will survive in several geographical areas, a single Qfly is only mobile over relatively short distances, moving from vineyard to vineyard, or from native (or urban hosts) into commercial production areas.
It thrives because it is able to lay its eggs in a wide range of host plants, so it can spread rapidly and establish over large areas if the conditions are suitable. This combination of rapid breeding and adaptability is what makes management of Qfly so difficult and why it is considered a serious insect pest of Australian horticulture.
Over 100 fruit and vegetables are confirmed hosts of Qfly meaning more than three quarters of Australian fruit and vegetable exports are susceptible to infestation.
Qfly could be present not only on your property, but also on your neighbours’. Residential gardens, home orchards and wind breaks, such as olives, can also contain host plants for Qfly to complete their life cycle. Therefore, even with appropriate vineyard management, there could be Qfly living near your commercial vineyard that could fly into your crop when fruit begins to ripen.
Mature Qfly can be up to 8 mm long, with a red to dark brown body. The Qfly has a narrow waist between the thorax (mid-section of the Qfly) and the abdomen, and the thorax is patterned with cream to yellow shoulder markings and stripes. The wings are transparent. The female can be identified by the ovipositor (or ‘stinger’) at the base.
An adult Qfly can live for several months, depending on environmental conditions and food availability.
Adult Qfly can live throughout winter and become active again in winter/early spring as temperatures increase. Protein and sugar sources are required for sexual maturation (the process of becoming mature), and egg maturation after mating. Flies can occasionally be seen moving around plants early in the morning looking for protein, then rest during the hottest part of the day within leafy canopies. Mating occurs at dusk. Female Qfly may mate once, or many times; they are more likely to re-mate if they sensed their first mate lacked fitness.
3/120 Eighth Street, Mildura