Passion fruit shoot fly

Neosilba pendula

1. Identification

• Common name: Passion fruit shoot fly
• Scientific name: Neosilba pendula Bezzi
• Order: Diptera
• Family: Lonchaeidae

2. Pest description

• Small adults (3–5 mm), metallic black in color.
• Elongated body, transparent wings and rounded head.
• White, cylindrical, legless larvae develop in shoots and young tissues.
• Brown pupae, formed inside the tissues or in the soil.
• Eggs laid in tender shoots, new sprouts or damaged tissues.

3. Main hosts

• Passion fruit (main host).
• Other Passiflora species may be affected.
• May also develop in young tissues of other tropical fruit trees when damaged.

4. Symptoms and damage

• Wilting and deformation of young shoots.
• Punctures and necrosis in the tender tissues.
• Shoots that stop growing or dry out.
• Reduction of plant vigor and decreased production.
• Greater susceptibility to secondary infections.
• Significant losses in passion fruit orchards, especially during periods of intense sprouting.

5. Biological cycle

• Several generations per year in tropical and subtropical climates.
• Adults active for much of the year.
• Oviposition in young shoots or damaged tissues.
• Larvae develop rapidly inside the tissues.
• Pupation inside the shoots or in the soil.
• Cycle favored by periods of intense vegetative growth.

6. Monitoring

• Direct observation of deformed or wilted young shoots.
• Sampling of sprouts for larval detection.
• Yellow chromotropic traps for detection of adults.
• Recording of periods of greater sprouting.
• Continuous monitoring in tropical orchards.

7. Management measures

• Cultural: pruning and destruction of attacked shoots; removal of damaged tissues; rigorous orchard sanitation; 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 authorized insecticides; integration of cultural practices to reduce sources of infestation.

Bibliographic references

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