Africa Museum researcher discovers fruit flies have global impact

Researcher Marc De Meyer, entomologist at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, has contributed to an international study that demonstrates that four species of fruit flies are in fact one and the same species. This insight has important consequences for global plant health and food safety.

Fruit flies are seen as one of the most harmful insect groups for agriculture. The Bactrocera dorsalis complex is a group of closely related fruit flies that are extremely destructive on the African continent. “The species leads to production losses that can amount to 80% for some crops,” said De Meyer in a statement.

A team of more than 40 researchers from more than 20 countries has now found that this group consists of fewer species than previously thought. “The main conclusion is that four species are actually one and the same and from now on will be known under the name Bactrocera dorsalis,” explained De Meyer.

The result has important economic consequences on economic embargoes. A region, for instance, might have an embargo against another region because one of the four species was thought to be present there but not in their own region. Now that they know the same species is also present in their own region, embargoes can be lifted.

“The results will also lead to better international co-operation in the battle against this harmful species,” said De Meyer, “a better policy on import or export, a more uniform treatment after harvests, better fundamental research and especially improved food security for some of the poorest countries in the world.”

photo courtesy PDH/Wikipedia