Species composition of fruit flies, Bactrocera spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) infesting guava in Maharashrtra

Guava, Psidium guajava L. is one of the most important fruit crops. The infestation of fruit fly is a major limiting factor in the production of guava. It is in the range of 20 46% (Hasseb, 2007). Fruit flies belong to the family Tephritidae and order, Diptera. Tephritidae is the largest family, comprising more than 4000 species in 500 genera (White and Elson-Harris, 1992). There are about 325 species of fruit flies occurring in the Indian subcontinent, of which 205 are from India alone (Kapoor, 2005). Fruit fly infestation being the major obstacle in the production and marketing of the guava, the successive cultivation and export are highly dependent on sound control of fruit fly. Trapping fruit flies is one of the alternatives to manage pest in an ecofriendly way. Use of chemical attractants like methyl eugenol and cue lure along w ith appropriate trapping tec hnique has been reported effective in monitoring, suppressing and even complete eradication of various fruit flies (Steiner et al., 1970, Grew al and Kapoor, 1987). The c orrec t identification of species has immense value to promote sound biological evidence for the specific status of sibling species which ultimately helps in developing and adopting effective control strategies. Most of the fruit flies are having limited dis tribution perhaps due to phys ical, climatic and vegetative factors and host specificity.