Bactrocera oleae
| Olive fruit fly | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Adult on leaf | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Diptera |
| Family: | Tephritidae |
| Genus: | Bactrocera |
| Subgenus: | Daculus |
| Species: | B. oleae |
| Binomial name | |
|
Bactrocera oleae (Rossi, 1790) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Dacus oleae (Rossi, 1790) |
|
Dacus oleae (Rossi, 1790)
Dacus oleae var. flaviventris Guercio, 1900
Dacus oleae var. funesta Guercio, 1900
Musca oleae Rossi, 1790
The olive fruit fly (Bactrocera oleae, Dacus oleae) is a species of fruit fly which belongs to the Dacinae subfamily. It is a phytophagous species, whose larvae feed on the fruit of olive trees, hence the common name. It is considered a serious pest in the cultivation of olives.
Until 1998, the fly had not been detected in the United States, and its range coincided with the range of the olive tree in the Eastern Hemisphere: northern, eastern and southern Africa, Southern Europe, Canary Islands, India, and western Asia. In the Western Hemisphere, it is currently restricted to California, Baja California, and Sonora. The olive fruit fly was first detected in North America infesting olive fruits on landscape trees in Los Angeles County in November 1998. It can now be found throughout the state of California. The source of importation was the shipment of olive saplings from Italy to the Port of Ensenada in Baja California, México by a joint venture company known as "Olivarera Italo-Mexicana, S.A. de C.V. Their intention was to plant an orchard of 260,000 olive trees on Ejido Tigre del Desierto near Laguna Salada in the desert at the base of the Sierra west of Mexicali. This effort was promoted by Alfredo Corella, brother of the former PANista Senator Norberto Corella of the State of Sonora. The saplings were test planted at a nursery in Maneadero south of Ensenada by one Pablo Livas who overwatered and killed many of those test plantings. Alas, the olive fly was established; caused by the ineptitude of the importers and the lax import inspection by the Mexican federal government, and spread rapidly through citrus groves and into all the olive orchards of Baja California, Sonora, and north into California causing massive crop losses (95%) in Lindsey and Strathmore within one year of introduction.
The olive fruit fly received notoriety in the United States in 2009 when funding for research designed to prevent infestation sponsored by Representative Mike Thompson received public attention as alleged federal pork barrel spending from persons who failed to understand its agricultural purpose.
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Wikipedia