United States Department of Agriculture Natural Enemies of Marketing and Regulatory True Fruit Flies Programs Animal and Plant Health (Tephritidae) Inspection Service Plant Protection Jeffrey N. L. Stibick and Quarantine Psyttalia fletcheri (shown) is the only fruit fly parasitoid introduced into Hawaii capable of parasitizing the melon fly (Bactrocera cucurbitae) United States Department of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Plant Protection and Quarantine 4700 River Road Riverdale, MD 20737 February, 2004 Telephone: (301) 734-4406 FAX: (301) 734-8192 e-mail:
[email protected] Jeffrey N. L. Stibick Introduction Introduction Fruit flies in the family Tephritidae are high profile insects among commercial fruit and vegetable growers, marketing exporters, government regulatory agencies, and the scientific community. Locally, producers face huge losses without some management scheme to control fruit fly populations. At the national and international level, plant protection agencies strictly regulate the movement of potentially infested products. Consumers throughout the world demand high quality, blemish-free produce. Partly to satisfy these demands, the costs to local, state and national governments are quite high and increasing as world trade, and thus risk, increases. Thus, fruit flies impose a considerable resource tax on participants at every level, from producer to shipper to the importing state and, ultimately, to the consumer. (McPheron & Steck, 1996) Indeed, in the United States alone, the running costs per year to APHIS, Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ), (the federal Agency responsible) for maintenance of trapping systems, laboratories, and identification are in excess of US$27 million per year and increasing. This figure only accounts for a fraction of total costs throughout the country, as State, County and local governments put in their share as well as the local industry affected.