Mango Fruit Fly
Bactrocera dorsalis
📖 Description
Mango Fruit Fly is the most destructive pest of mango in the Indian subcontinent, causing 20-50% yield loss across all mango-growing regions. The female punctures the fruit skin and lays eggs inside — maggots hatch and feed internally, causing fruit rot and drop. Once inside, maggots are protected from insecticides, making prevention essential. Methyl Eugenol pheromone traps are exceptionally effective for mass trapping of males — a single trap can catch hundreds of males, dramatically reducing mating and subsequent infestation. This technique is widely adopted by Indian mango growers as the foundation of fruit fly IPM. The pest has a very wide host range (mango, guava, citrus, papaya, etc.) and rapid reproduction, making area-wide management important. The pest is most severe during the mango fruiting season (Apr-Jul).
⚠️ Symptoms to watch for
- Puncture marks on fruit skin with brownish sap exudate, fruit softening and yellowing around puncture, premature fruit drop, internal maggot infestation, fruit rotting with foul smell, fruit unmarketable, yield loss 20-50%
🩹 Treatment
- Install Methyl Eugenol pheromone traps @ 4/ha for mass trapping (very effective for male trapping), apply poison bait spray (Dichlorvos + jaggery @ 0.1% + 1%) on alternate rows, collect and destroy fallen infested fruits, harvest fruits at mature-green stage
🌿 Organic treatments
- Methyl Eugenol traps @ 4/ha with Malathion (very effective for male mass trapping), Spinosad 45 SC @ 0.25 ml/L + jaggery 1% bait spray, GF-120 (Spinosad bait) @ 1 L/ha, collect and destroy fallen fruits by deep burying, neem oil 5 ml/L + 5 g/L soap spray
🧪 Chemical treatments
- Dichlorvos 76 EC @ 1 ml/L + jaggery 1% (bait spray on alternate rows), Lambda-cyhalothrin 5 EC @ 0.5 ml/L, Spinosad 45 SC @ 0.25 ml/L, Cyantraniliprole 10 OD @ 1 ml/L, Imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 0.3 ml/L
🛡️ Prevention
- Methyl Eugenol traps @ 4/ha (start 45 days before fruit ripening, replace lure every 60 days), collect and destroy all fallen infested fruits by deep burying, harvest fruits at mature-green stage to avoid infestation, avoid mixed planting of host fruits, monitor with Methyl Eugenol traps
🪴 Affected plants
- Mango, Guava, Citrus, Papaya, Banana, Peach, Plum, Carambola, Marula
🦋 Natural predators
- Ants (predators of pupae in soil), Spiders, Opius (larval parasitoids), Dirhinus (pupal parasitoid), Birds, Predatory Bugs
🌱 Host plants
- Mangifera indica, Psidium guajava, Citrus spp., Carica papaya, Musa spp.
🔄 Lifecycle
- Female lays 100-200 eggs in clusters under fruit skin.
- Eggs hatch in 1-3 days.
- Maggots feed inside fruit for 7-12 days through 3 instars.
- Pupation in soil, lasting 8-14 days.
- Adult lifespan 30-120 days.
- Total life cycle 25-35 days; 8-10 overlapping generations per year.
📅 Season
- March-July (mango fruiting season), peaks May-Jun
🔎 Appearance
- Adult is a brownish-yellow fly with a dark 'T'-shaped mark on abdomen, transparent wings with brown costal cell, and clear yellowish face.
- Maggots are creamy-white, legless larvae with a pointed head.
- Eggs are white, banana-shaped, laid under fruit skin in clusters.
💥 Damage level
- Severe
🔁 Reproduction rate
- Very Rapid
🗺️ Geographic regions
- Indian Subcontinent
- South Asia
- Southeast Asia
- East Asia
- Africa
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