Host range and species diversity of Tephritidae of three plant formations in Western Burkina Faso.

Abstract

In Western Burkina Faso, the host range of fruit flies was evaluated in three plant formations between May 2017 and April 2019. Samples of 61 potential hosts were collected and incubated for fruit fly emergence. Twenty-seven hosts including cultivated and wild fruit were identified. Among cultivated fruit species, mango, and guava were the most infested while high infestation incidences were observed in the fruit of the indigenous plants Vitellaria paradoxa, Annona senegalensis, Sarcocephalus latifolius, and Saba senegalensis. Low infestation rates were observed in Anacardium occidentale, Citrus species, Opilia celtidifolia, and Cissus populnea. The highest infestation index (1648.57 flies kg-1) was observed from V. paradoxa. Eleven new host fruit infested with many fruit fly species are reported in Burkina Faso. A total of 18 fruit fly species were reared; Bactrocera dorsalis (42.94%), Ceratitis cosyra (29.93%), and Ceratitis silvestrii (22.33%) dominated those that emerged. Four fruit fly species have been detected for the first time in Burkina Faso. The main suitable fruit hosts are abundant and available from May through August during the rainy season and become rare and have low infestation from November to April during the dry season. This is the first study of its kind in the region. This study shows that the three plant formations had an impact on population dynamics of the three tephritid species of economic importance in Western Burkina Faso. This information should be integrated into the development of a fruit fly pests management strategy.