SPECIES COMPOSITION AND ABUNDANCE OF FRUIT FLIES (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE) IN KAMPUNG SUNGAI BUAH, SELANGOR, MALAYSIA
Abstract
Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are pests of economic importance in the fruit and vegetable industry, especially in tropical and subtropical regions. This study was conducted to determine the diversity and relative abundance of fruit fly species in the village ecosystem. Sampling was conducted using traps baited with male attractants, namely methyl eugenol (ME) and cue lure (CL) in Kampung Sungai Buah, Dengkil, Selangor every fortnightly for 12-sampling in six months. A total of 3,970 male fruit flies from nine species were trapped. ME bait traps successfully captured 3,779 individuals (95.2%) of four fruit fly species, Bactrocera dorsalis, B. carambolae, B. occipitalis and B. umbrosa. Fruit flies with intermediate morphological characteristics between B. carambolae and B. dorsalis were also captured. Cue lure traps captured 191 individuals (4.8%) of five species from two genera, namely Bactrocera hochii and B. melastomatos, Zeugodacus caudatus, Z. cucurbitae and Z. tau. The highest abundance of fruit fly species was B. dorsalis (33.1%), followed by B. umbrosa (17.0%), B. carambolae (14.5%) and B. occipitalis (12.2%). The most abundant species attracted by CL was Z. tau (2.9%) while all other species were <1%. The Shannon-Wiener Diversity Index of 1.451 and Margalef Species Richness of 0.9654 indicate low species diversity and richness with the species accumulation curve reaching an asymptote. The relatively low Dominance Index of 0.2878, together with the moderate Evenness Index of 0.4744, indicate that species are fairly evenly distributed and no species dominates the population in this habitat. More than 85% of the total captures are fruit fly species of economic importance and indirectly pointed that the village ecosystem continues to be a ‘safe haven’ for pesty fruit flies as long as there is no joint effort and plans for fruit fly control and management by the villagers.
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