The document provides an overview of the frugivorous fruit fly (Dacinae) fauna found in Botswana. Seventeen fruit fly species have been identified to date, including the exotic Bactrocera dorsalis. Ceratitis capitata is the most widespread species, while Ceratitis rosa is limited to southeastern districts. Most species are economically important pests of crops like mango, citrus, and tomato. Further surveys are needed to fully document the diversity and host preferences of fruit flies in Botswana.

1. Ofentse Sithole
Department of Biological
Sciences
University of Botswana
AN OVERVIEW OF THE
FRUGIVOROUS FRUIT FLY
(DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE,
DACINAE) FAUNA IN BOTSWANA
THE 3RD INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE TEPHRITID WORKERS OF EUROPE, AFRICA AND
THE MIDDLE EAST (TEAM) IN STELLENBOSCH DURING THE 11-14 APRIL 2016

2. 1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results and Discussion
4. Conclusion
5. Acknowledgements
AN OVERVIEW OF THE FRUGIVOROUS FRUIT FLY
(DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE, DACINAE) FAUNA IN
BOTSWANA

3. Botswana -latitude 18°S and 27°S;
longitudes 20°E and 29°E
Area= 582, 000 square kilometres
GDP= USD 17.22 billion in 2014
Total Population= 2,155,784
Unemployment Rate= 20 % in 2013
Literacy Rate= definition: age 15 and over
can read and write, total population: 85.1%
male: 84.6% female: 85.6% (2011 est.)
Land-locked country (Biosecurity risks):
675 km inland from the Indian Ocean and
1025 km form the Atlantic Ocean
Map of Botswana
http://www.indexmundi.com/botswana/demographics_profile.html
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/botswana/unemployment-rate
www.tradingeconomics.com/botswana/gdp

4. Imports Exports
Commodity Quantity(Tons) Value(pula) Quantity(Tons) Value(pula)
Guavas,
Mangoes &
Mangoteens
1956.663 5,246,727.00 0.08 2,574.00
Tomatoes 5101.782 24,860,529.00 96.874 399,843.00
Watermelon 958.183 1,126,968.00 0.524 708.00
Pawpaws 951.410 1,682,334.00 0.01 119.00
Bananas 9342.548 35,254,653.00 0.29 2,039.00
Citrus 480.974 2,462,316.00 0.392 2,926.00
Peaches,
nectarines
629.573 3,613,091.00 0.068 414.00
Fresh grapes 1110.666 6,111,220.00 0.03 1,430.00
Table 1.0: Summary of annual Horticultural
Produce Imports-Exports for 2010
Source: Statistics Botswana; International Merchandise Trade Statistics; +267 3934968

5. Botswana Climate Situation
Dry season- May to October - Winter
• There is little to no rain; humidity is low, typically 20-40%.
• May - The temperatures are relatively cool, typically 10°C/50°F in
the morning and 28°C/80°F in the afternoon.
• June, July & August - Temperature (morning-afternoon) range
6°C/42°F to 25°C/78°F.
• September & October - Temperature : very hot in October
(38°C/100°F), but the average temperature remains around
34°C/93°F in the afternoon.
Wet season - November to April - Summer
• November & December - Cooler temperatures and occasional late
afternoon showers. In December: temperatures between 20°C/69°F
in the morning and 33°C/91°F in the afternoon.
• January & February - These are the wettest months- torrential
downpours in the afternoon . Daytime temperatures : 32°C/90°F and
the humidity is between 50-80%.
• March & April - Rainfall decreases and it steadily cools. The nights
tend to be cooler but the days are very temperate at 30°C/87°F.
http://www.botswanacraft.bw/~mettest/
Botswana has a predominantly sub-tropical
climate
Influence horticultural production & fruit fly population

6. Farmer benefit constrained by frugivorous
fruit flies
List of symptoms/signs
Fruit - internal feeding
Fruit - lesions: black or brown
Inflorescence - internal feeding
Leaves - internal feeding
Roots - internal feeding
Stems - internal feeding

7. 1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results and Discussion
4. Conclusion
5. Acknowledgements
AN OVERVIEW OF THE FRUGIVOROUS FRUIT FLY
(DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE, DACINAE) FAUNA IN
BOTSWANA

8. • Fruit flies were collected through an Area-Wide Detection Survey of under
the technical assistance of United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
and Government of Botswana during 2009-2010;
• Furthermore, fruit fly collection was done during 2010-2015 in various
ecological regions of Botswana, in accordance with the IAEA (2003)
guidelines and Protocol
• Fruit fly trapping was done using the following para-pheromone
dispensers (plugs and membrane) baited with Dichlorvos in Chempac® fruit
fly traps :
• Methyl Eugenol (ME)
• Cue lure
• Terpinyl Acetate (TA)
• Trimedlure (TML)
• Biolure -3 Component lure

9. The southern parts of Botswana are generally cooler whereas the northern parts are hotter
The western parts of Botswana have generally extremes of cold and hot conditions

10. • All fruit flies were preserved dry or in 70% ethanol.
• The material was taxonomically identified and shipped to the Royal
Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium (RMCA) or the University of
Pretoria, South Africa for authoritative confirmation
• In addition, information included in this presentation was supplemented
with published literature records and older records in entomological
collections.
• Some material deposited in the collections of Royal Museum for Central
Africa (Belgium), Department of Agricultural Research (Botswana) and
University of Pretoria (South Africa)
• The database ca be consulted at http://projects.bebif.be/fruitfly/index.html.
• http://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?TAXON_KEY=3520&COUNTRY=BW

11. 1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results and Discussion
4. Conclusion
5. Acknowledgements
AN OVERVIEW OF THE FRUGIVOROUS FRUIT FLY
(DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE, DACINAE) FAUNA IN
BOTSWANA

12. Table 3.0: Occurrence of fruit flies in the districts of Botswana-Central (CE), Chobe (CH), Francistown
(FR), Gaborone (GA), Ghanzi (GH), Kgalagadi (KG), Kgatleng (KL), Kweneng (KW), Lobatse (LO), North
East (NE), North West (NW), South East (SE)
Genus Species District of occurrence
CE CH FR GA GH KG KL KW LO NE NW SE
Ceratitis
Subfamily:
Dacinae
Tribe: Ceratitidini
capitata x x x x x x x x x x x
cosyra X x x x
rosa x x
quinaria x x
Dacus
Subfamily:
Dacinae
Tribe: Dacini
bivittatus x x
bistrigulatus x
ciliatus X x x x
famona x
frontalis x x x x x
kariba x
rufus x x
vertebratus X x x x x x x
fuscatus x
siliqualactis x x
Bactrocera
Subfamily:
Dacinae
Tribe: Dacini
dorsalis X x x x x
Perilampsis
Subfamily:
Dacinae
Tribe: Ceratitidini
curta X
woodi x

13. Fruit fly occurrence in relation to the land
suitability for rainfed crop production
• High fruit fly diversity in
Chobe, Central & North
West districts-Major
horticultural production
areas
• Low fruit fly diversity in
Kgalagadi, Ghanzi,
North East districts-
Minor or negligible
horticultural production
areas

14. 59%23%
12%
6%
Fruit fly Species Composition
Dacus Ceratitis Perilampsis Bactrocera
Dacus Ceratitis Perilampsis Bactrocera
Number of species 10 4 2 1
Percentage (%) 59 23 12 6
• A total of 17 fruit fly
species occur in different
districts of Botswana
• All belong to the Dacinae
subfamily
• 16 species native to
Afrotropical region
• First record of the exotic
Bactrocera dorsalis
(Hendel, 1912) in 2009

15. Global Origin of the major Tephritid
Genera found in Botswana
• Ceratitis (Afrotropical); Dacus (Majority Afrotropical-some
Saharo-Arabian and Oriental); Bactrocera (All but 10 Oriental-
some Sino-Japanese Drew (2004) ), Bishop Mus. Bull. Entomol.
12: 165-178} ; Map-Courtesy: Holt, et al. (2014), Science 339, 74.

16. Notes on the economic importance of the
Dacinae fruit flies
Fruit fly species Host preference
Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824),
Ceratitis rosa Karsch, 1887, Bactrocera
dorsalis (Hendel, 1912), Dacus ciliatus Loew,
1862, Ceratitis rosa Karsch, 1887
Polyphagous (numerous hosts)
Ceratitis cosyra (Walker, 1849), Ceratitis
quinaria (Bezzi, 1918), Ceratitis rosa Karsch,
1887, Dacus siliqualactis Munro, 1939
Anacardiaceae-feeders (mango family)
Ceratitis quinaria (Bezzi, 1918), Ceratitis
cosyra (Walker, 1849), Ceratitis rosa Karsch,
1887
Rutaceae-feeders (citrus family)
Ceratitis rosa Karsch, 1887 Solanaceae-feeders (tomato family)
Dacus frontalis Becker, 1922, Dacus bivittatus
(Bigot, 1858), Dacus vertebratus Bezzi, 1908,
Dacus ciliatus Loew, 1862
Cucurbitaceae-feeders (cucurbits family)
Ceratitis cosyra (Walker, 1849), Ceratitis rosa
Karsch, 1887
Mytaceae-feeders (guava family)

17. Notes on the economic importance of
the Dacinae fruit flies
Genus Perilampsis Bezzi 1920
Larvae infest the family, Loranthaceae , which contains several species of
parasitic plants-Pupation occurs inside the fruit (the Perilampsis are not of
economic importance). Loranthaceae is a serious pest of mango in India.
1. Perilampsis curta Munro, 1938-Occurs also in Kenya, Mozambique,
Tanzania. Attracted to methyl eugenol in Ditladi. Occurs in Central district
2. Perilampsis woodi (Bezzi, 1924)-Occurs in Angola, Ivory Coast, Malawi,
Nigeria, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe. Attracted to cue-lure in Ditladi.
Occurs in Central district

18. Notes on the economic importance of
Bactrocera dorsalis
Districts in which B. dorsalis occur
• First recorded in Chobe district (Kasane)
in August 2009 (Possibly spread from
Zambia-in July 2009 B. dorsalis occurred
in southern Zambia)
• Also occurs in South East (Tlokweng
Border) and Lobatse (Pioneer border),
(60 km from Zeerust town of South
Africa, the North West Province) districts
-probably spread from North West-ZA,
where it was reported in January 2013
• Central (Tuli Block areas, including
Martin’s Drift Border)-Adjacent to
Limpopo Province of South Africa, where
B. dorsalis was first detected in May
2010 and July 2010 in Groblersbrug
• North East (Ramokgwebana border)
district near Zimbabwe border of
Plumtree.-Possibly spread from
Zimbabwe, where B. dorsalis was
reported in April 2013
Genus Bactrocera Macquart, 1835
Highly polyphagous, destructive
horticultural pests
of global significance
1. Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel, 1912)
Formerly known as Bactrocera invadens
Drew Tsuruta & White,2003-Attacking over
40 fruit species and recorded from more than
30 African countries
• Commercial hosts include Mango, citrus,
banana, tomato
• Known wild hosts include Monkey orange
(Mogorogorwane), Strychnos
cocculoides; Morula, Sclerocarya birrea
• Male attracted to methyl eugenol
https://www.ippc.int/en/countries/

19. 1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results and Discussion
4. Conclusion
5. Acknowledgements
AN OVERVIEW OF THE FRUGIVOROUS FRUIT FLY
(DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE, DACINAE) FAUNA IN
BOTSWANA

20. Conclusion
• The Dacine fruit flies occurring in Botswana are summarized in Table 3.0.
With Seventeen confirmed species (including a record of Bactrocera
dorsalis, which is now established)
• Ceratitis capitata is widespread across the country, possibly due high
adaptability to varying climatic conditions and polyphagy
• Ceratitis rosa is confined to the south eastern district, possibly due to cooler
climatic conditions
• The Dacini fauna of Botswana exhibits a rather limited diversity
• Fifteen of the species are of economic importance whereas two
(Perilampsis curta and Perilampsis woodi) are not of economic importance
• Most representatives are taxa that are widespread throughout the
Afrotropical Region, including the exotic Bactrocera dorsalis which is of
Asian origin
• Fruit fly composition is likely to be lower than the actual number of
Tephritids in Botswana
• Future extensive survey and rearing of fruit flies is necessary for a complete
faunal diversity and host fruit data to be availed

21. 1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
3. Results and Discussion
4. Conclusion
5. Acknowledgements
AN OVERVIEW OF THE FRUGIVOROUS FRUIT FLY
(DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE, DACINAE) FAUNA IN
BOTSWANA

22. Acknowledgements
Marc De Meyer
Ian White
Mervyn Mansell
Sunday Ekesi
Marks Ditlhogo
Stephan Coetzee