Passion fruit flower bud fly

Dasiops spp.

1. Identification

• Common name: Passion fruit flower-bud fly
• Scientific name: Dasiops spp.
• Order: Diptera
• Family: Lonchaeidae

2. Pest description

• Small adults (3–4 mm), glossy black in color.
• Rounded head, short antennae, transparent wings.
• White, cylindrical, legless larvae develop inside the flower buds.
• Brown pupae, formed inside the buds or in the soil.
• Eggs laid in young flower buds.

3. Main hosts

• Passion fruit.
• Other Passiflora species may be affected.
• Preference for developing flower buds.

4. Symptoms and damage

• Punctures and necrosis in the flower buds.
• Buds that do not open and eventually fall.
• Significant reduction in fruit set.
• Deformed flowers or flowers with internal darkening.
• Significant economic losses in passion fruit orchards.

5. Biological cycle

• Several generations per year in tropical and subtropical climates.
• Adults active for much of the year.
• Oviposition in young flower buds.
• Larvae develop rapidly inside the buds.
• Pupation inside the buds or in the soil.
• Cycle favored by periods of intense flowering.

6. Monitoring

• Direct observation of damaged flower buds.
• Sampling of buds for larval detection.
• Yellow chromotropic traps for detection of adults.
• Recording of periods of greater flowering.
• Continuous monitoring in tropical orchards.

7. Management measures

• Cultural: collection and destruction of fallen buds; elimination of floral debris; synchronization of flowering when possible; rigorous orchard sanitation.
• Biological: conservation of natural enemies; application of entomopathogens to the soil; promotion of parasitoids when present.
• Integrated protection: continuous monitoring; use of traps for population reduction; targeted treatments when thresholds are reached; judicious application of authorized insecticides; integration of cultural practices to reduce sources of infestation.

Bibliographic references

• EPPO Global Database – Dasiops spp..
• CABI Invasive Species Compendium – Lonchaeidae associated with Passiflora.
• Souza, M. T. et al. (2018). Pests of passion fruit.
• Zucchi, R. A. (2000). Fruit flies and Lonchaeidae in South American horticulture.