Hosts of Bactrocera obscura, Samoa

July 2012. A question from Samoa about the hosts of Bactrocera obscura in the Pacific: are any known? A lot of flies have been collected in pheromone traps but none from surveys of possible hosts.

It was suggested to collect flower buds and seed heads. Tephritidae sometimes feed on these plant parts.

The former team leader of the pacific fruit fly project wrote that there are no known host records for Bactrocera obscura. This applies in all countries where it occurs – Rotuma (Fiji Islands), Wallis and Futuna, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga (Niuatoputapu and Niuafo’ou), and Niue. Unfortunately, there were no immediate suggestions of potential host fruits or other parts of plants that could be sampled.

Another member suggested that perhaps there is a record from Planchonella on Niue. This may be kalaka (P. grayana), which is related to the Samoan ala’a. Also there is mamalava in Samoa.