Passion fruit fly

Lonchaea spp.

1. Identification

• Common name: Passion fruit fly
• Scientific name: Lonchaea spp.
• Order: Diptera
• Family: Lonchaeidae

2. Pest description

• Small adults (3–5 mm), metallic black in colour.
• Rounded head, short antennae and transparent wings.
• White, cylindrical, legless larvae that develop in the pulp of the fruits.
• Brown pupae, formed inside the fruit or in the soil.
• Eggs laid in damaged, cracked fruits or fruits in the early stages of decomposition.

3. Main hosts

• Passion fruit.
• Other Passiflora species.
• It can also develop in overripe or damaged fruits of other tropical fruit trees.

4. Symptoms and damage

• Perforations and small lesions on the skin of the fruits.
• Softened pulp and the onset of internal fermentation.
• Presence of larvae in damaged or overripe fruits.
• Premature fruit drop.
• Significant losses in passion fruit orchards, especially when there is prior damage caused by other pests.

5. Biological cycle

• Several generations per year in tropical and subtropical climates.
• Adults active during most of the year.
• Egg-laying in damaged, cracked or overripe fruits.
• Larvae develop rapidly in the pulp.
• Pupation inside the fruit or in the soil.
• Cycle favoured by high availability of damaged fruits.

6. Monitoring

• Direct observation of damaged or overripe fruits.
• Sampling of fruits for the detection of larvae.
• Yellow chromotropic traps can help in the detection of adults.
• Recording of periods of greater production and fruit drop.
• Continuous monitoring in tropical orchards.

7. Management measures

• Cultural: collection and destruction of fallen or damaged fruits; removal of overripe fruits; rigorous sanitation of the orchard; vegetation management to reduce shelter sites.
• 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 authorised insecticides; integration of cultural practices to reduce sources of infestation.

Bibliographic references

• EPPO Global Database – Lonchaea spp..
• CABI Invasive Species Compendium – Lonchaeidae in tropical fruit trees.
• Souza, M. T. et al. (2018). Pragas do maracujazeiro.
• Zucchi, R. A. (2000). Fruit flies and Lonchaeidae in South American horticulture.