Biological control of olive fruit fly may be a key part of an integrated management program. Olive fly is a key pest of olives in the Mediterranean region, but it also occurs widely in Africa and Asia. Natural enemies do not provide adequate control in Europe. In South Africa the fly is less serious as a pest. Little is known of the biology and ecology of olive fruit fly in Africa and Asia, but native natural enemies may be important in limiting the fly. Previous explorations in Africa, potentially the native home of olive fly, showed that there is a rich diversity of olive fly parasitoids. However, no new species were established in Europe and the potential of African species remained largely unexplored. Other parts of the fly's range have never been surveyed. Recent taxonomic studies have clarified the status of many braconid parasitoids of olive fly. New surveys may identify additional species. Therefore, new foreign exploration in the native range of olive fly has been initiated. Climate matching software was used to compare olive production zones in California with foreign locations. Close matches were found in southern Europe, northern and southern extremes of Africa, and mid-eastern Asia. New explorations are planned for South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Morocco and the Middle East. These were begun in in 2000. South African collections to date have yielded a variety of braconid and chalcidoid parasitoids and valuable data on ecology of olive fly in wild olives.
Species 1: Diptera Tephritidae Bactrocera oleae (olive fruit fly)
Keywords: biological control, parasitoid
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