Gottwald Center for the Sciences, University of Richmond, 138 UR Drive, Richmond, VA 23173, USA.
University of Virginia, Physical and Life Sciences Building, 90 Geldard Drive, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA.
J Insect Sci. 2023 Sep 1;23(5). doi: 10.1093/jisesa/iead092.
The African fig fly, Zaprionus indianus (Gupta), is a generalist fruit fly that typically breeds in decaying fruits from over 70 plant species. The species has spread globally from its native range in tropical Africa, becoming an invasive pest on ripening figs in Brazil. First reported in the United States in 2005 in Florida, Z. indianus has since been documented as far north as Canada and is hypothesized to recolonize northwards from southern refugia each year. We sampled drosophilid communities over the growing season at 2 orchards in Virginia from 2020 to 2022 and 11 orchards along the East Coast during the fall of 2022 to quantify the abundance of Z. indianus relative to other drosophilids across locations, seasons, and fruit crops. Massachusetts had the northernmost population, with no Z. indianus detected in Maine and no correlation between latitude and relative abundance. Variation in Z. indianus relative abundance was high between nearby orchards and abundance was higher on peaches relative to apples within orchards. Comparisons of seasonal abundance curves between 2 Virginia orchards showed similar dynamics across years with individuals first detected around July and becoming absent around December, with peaks in late summer and mid-fall. The variation in seasonal and latitudinal abundance shown here highlights a need for broader sampling to accurately characterize the range, spread, and environmental tolerances of Z. indianus in North America.
非洲无花果实蝇， Zaprionus indianus (Gupta)，是一种广泛分布的水果蝇，通常在 70 多种植物的腐烂果实中繁殖。该物种已从其在热带非洲的本地范围传播到全球各地，成为巴西成熟无花果上的入侵性害虫。该物种于 2005 年首次在美国佛罗里达州报告，此后在加拿大北部也有记录，并假设每年从南部避难所向北重新殖民化。我们在 2020 年至 2022 年期间在弗吉尼亚州的 2 个果园以及 2022 年秋季在东海岸的 11 个果园中对果蝇群落进行了采样，以量化相对于其他果蝇，Z. indianus 在不同地点、季节和水果作物中的丰度。马萨诸塞州的种群最靠北，缅因州未检测到 Z. indianus，纬度与相对丰度之间也没有相关性。附近果园之间的 Z. indianus 相对丰度差异很大，果园内的桃树上的丰度相对较高。对 2 个弗吉尼亚州果园的季节性丰度曲线进行比较表明，多年来的动态相似，个体最早在 7 月左右被发现，大约在 12 月左右消失，在夏末和秋中达到峰值。这里显示的季节性和纬度丰度的变化突出表明需要更广泛的采样，以准确描述 Z. indianus 在北美的范围、传播和环境容忍度。
