www.nt.gov.au
Presentation TitlePresenter name
Date of presentation
Update on fruit fly and
other insect pests
Brian Thistleton
Mango Research Meeting
29 July 2016
DEPARTMENT OF PRIMARY INDUSTRY AND FISHERIES
www.nt.gov.au
Acknowledgements
• Entomology team
– Mary Finlay-Doney
– Natasha Burrows
– Austin McLennan
– Michael Neal
– Lanni Zhang
– Haidee Brown
• Growers who allowed access to their properties for
leafhopper monitoring and fruit fly studies
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Outline
• Mango leafhoppers
• Mango fruit borer
• Update on fruit fly project
www.nt.gov.au
Mango leafhopper – Idioscopus nitidulus
www.nt.gov.au
Mango Plant Hopper
www.nt.gov.au
Sampling techniques
Counts on leaves
Sweep netting
www.nt.gov.au
12
1
3
1
• Idioscopus nitidulus (Hemiptera: Ciccadellidae)
• 8 sites, sampling fortnightly from May 2015
Mango leafhopper surveillance
Leafhoppers Mango trees
Adults
Nymphs
Eggs
Mature leaves
Bud
Flushing leaves
Flushing flowers
Panicles
www.nt.gov.au
12
1
3
1
• Idioscopus nitidulus (Hemiptera: Ciccadellidae)
• 8 sites, sampling fortnightly from May 2015
Mango leafhopper surveillance
Leafhoppers Mango trees
Adults
Nymphs
Eggs
Mature leaves
BudFlushing leaves
Flushing flowersPanicles
www.nt.gov.au
Site 2. Leaf hopper abundance over 12 months comparing life stage and two different survey techniques
0
20
40
60
80
100
120.
Adult sweep
net
Adult leaf
count
nymph leaf
count
www.nt.gov.au
Site 1. Leaf hopper abundance over 12 months comparing life stage and two different survey techniques.
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Adult sweep
net
Adult leaf
count
Nymph leaf
count
www.nt.gov.au
www.nt.gov.au
Idioscopus nitidulus and I. clypealis1986 I. nitidulus discovered in
Torres Strait
1997 I. nitidulus discovered in
Cape York and NT (Darwin)
1999 I. clypealis discovered in
Cape York
2015 I. clypealis discovered in
NT (Melville Island) on citrus by
NAQS
Also on mainland – from routine
and extra monitoring Berrimah
and Virginia in April (6
specimens)
DNA - ?origin
www.nt.gov.au
Mango Fruit Borer, Citripestis eutraphera (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
Confirmed from Cambodia by DNA analysis of a larva in 2012
www.nt.gov.au
www.nt.gov.au
Fruit fly - Market access
1. Fruit fly populations – Darwin and Katherine, 4 years
2. Large scale collections of commercially-harvested untreated fruit
- Exposed to natural field populations of pest fruit flies
3. Cage studies – 2014 – species and variety comparisons
Exposed to extreme levels of pest fruit flies in a non-choice situation
4. Suppression studies
5. Oviposition trials
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Mangoes - Calypso (B74) and Kensington PrideFruit flies – Bactrocera jarvisi, Bactrocera tryoni
• 150+ individual fruit tested• Single sexually mature female placed in a cage with a single mango and observed for 2hrs• Measure FRUIT: Brix, DM% FLY: number of eggs in ovaries• Artificially place eggs in fruit after fly exposure
Results so far• Both species can complete development in immature fruit• Successful oviposition is not possible – unable to penetrate?
3rd December 2015
Fruit fly oviposition trials
www.nt.gov.au
Analysis and write-up:
• Final report – giving results for both projects
• Papers
• Protocol
3rd December 2015
Currently
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Thank you