Seasonal and Annual Distribution of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Honolulu and Suburban Areas of Oahu, Hawaii

Abstract

The geographical, seasonal, and annual distributions of Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), populations were monitored for 7 yr (1977–83) by means of traps. containing a male lure to catch flies, and host fruits periodically collected to detect infested fruits in Honolulu and leeward and windward residential areas of the Koolau Mountains of Oahu. Medflies often coexisted in fruit samples with the oriental fruit fly, Dacus dorsalis Hendel, with more oriental fruit flies than medflies reared. Medflies were virtually absent from wet leeward and windward areas of Kaneohe and Kahaluu. The results indicated that medfly host plants were highly variable in distribution, abundance, and fruiting cycle among seasons and years because of climatic factors, especially rainfall. Distribution, dispersal, and abundance of the flies followed the same trends.