The Chinese Citrus Fly, Bactrocera minax (Diptera: Tephritidae): A Review of its Biology, Behaviour and Area-Wide Management

The Chinese citrus fly Bactrocera minax (Enderlein) is a major pest of citrus in some Asian countries. It is a univoltine, oligophagous pest, which strictly infests Citrus species and varieties, and has an exceptionally long pupal diapause. B. minax has great socio-economic importance in China and its neighbouring countries because citrus production is a key fruit industry in these countries. We review the biology and management of this pest with a focus on its distribution, life cycle, diapause, behavioural ecology, and host preferences. We further review potential area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) strategies, including chemical control, but also various eco-friendly, locally developed and adopted techniques applied mainly in China and Bhutan. After years of continuous efforts in AW-IPM of B. minax, significant progress has been achieved in suppressing B. minax populations to a level of less than 5% infested fruit and a 60-80% reduction in the use of synthetic insecticides against this pest in China.