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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #293093
Title: MEDHOST: An encyclopedic bibliography of the host plants of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), version 1.1

Author
item LIQUIDO, NICANOR - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item McQuate, Grant
item SUITER, KARL - North Carolina State University

Submitted to: Global Pest and Disease Database
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/11/2013
Publication Date: 2/14/2013
Citation: Liquido, N., McQuate, G.T., Suiter, K. 2013. An encyclopedic bibliography of the host plants of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), version 1.1. Bemisia: Bionomics and Management of a Global Pest. Available: https://www.gpdd.info/MedHost/

Interpretive Summary: MEDHOST, version 1.1, is a revision of “MEDHOST: An Encyclopedic Bibliography of the Host Plants of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Weidemann), Version 1.0,” which was released in 1998 as a Windows-based executable database and listed all plant species reported as hosts of C. capitata (or potential hosts based on mere appearance on some lists). MedHost, version 1.1, significantly improves accessibility to this host plant database by developing/establishing it as an internet-based interactive application. Users of MEDHOST version 1.0 had interactive access to the entire database of host plants of the Mediterranean fruit fly, once installed on a computer’s hard drive or on an external storage device or accessed through a disk drive. MedHost, version 1.0, became the standard reference on recognized host plants of the Mediterranean fruit fly for pest risk assessments (PRA’s) for the United States and its trading partners. It, also, became a primary reference on regulating commodities based on host status for import/export/interstate movement as well as in eradication programs. The present revision, MEDHOST, version 1.1, significantly improves accessibility to this host plant database by developing/establishing it as an internet-based interactive application. Like version 1.0, it lists 353 species as hosts of Mediterranean fruit fly, 312 of which have valid genera and species names, while 41 have species identified as "sp." or "spp.". Of the species included, 79 species have laboratory infestation data, 79 species have field infestation data, 41 species have both laboratory and field infestation data and 154 have neither laboratory nor field infestation data. Updates in MEDHOST, ver. 1.1, include authentication of plant taxonomic entries in MEDHOST, ver. 1.0, and the capability to summarize and print search results. The taxonomy of the recorded host plants has been verified and validated according to the current botanical classification using the USDA-ARS Germplasm Repository Information Network (GRIN) and other pertinent botanical systematic sources. For each listed plant species, one can print out a report which summarizes the valid botanical name (genus, species, and author[s]; synonym[s]; common name[s]); native, cultivated, and naturalized areas of distribution of host plants; field and laboratory infestation data; and references that list host plants without any accompanying infestation or biological data.

Technical Abstract: This monograph is a compendium of all plant species reported as hosts of C. capitata (or potential hosts based on mere appearance on some lists). There are 353 species (312 have valid genera and species names and 41 have species identified as "sp." or "spp.") included in the monograph; 79 species have laboratory infestation data, 79 species have field infestation data, 41 species have both laboratory and field infestation data, and 154 have neither laboratory nor field infestation data. The host plants of the Mediterranean fruit fly catalogued in this monograph belong to 67 families. However, 40% of them belong to only five families: Myrtaceae (6%), Rosaceae (10%), Rutaceae (9%), Sapotaceae (9%), and Solanaceae (6%). These families comprise species that can be heavily infested irrespective of geography. Extreme polyphagy and adaptability of C. capitata is exhibited by its capacity to feed on tropical, subtropical, and temperate plant species included in the monograph. This review highlights the fact that, although C. capitata is a pest of worldwide importance, little is known about its biology in different host plants. Our survey of the literature revealed a great lack of information on the behavioral and demographic relationships of C. capitata to its hosts. The possible occurrence of host biotypes, host races, or genetic variants among different geographic populations further complicates the problem of defining its suitable hosts. Because of the importance of C. capitata as a quarantine pest, its host plants must be evalu¬ated in two different perspectives: (1) as biolog¬ical (breeding) hosts contributing to population growth; and (2) as regulatory hosts contributing to the hazard of accidental introduction. Although the realm of determining the biological hosts belongs to research scientists, the designation of regulatory host status must be given careful consideration by both research and regulatory entomologists because of legal and economic im¬plications. MEDHOST, version 1.1, is a revision of “MEDHOST: An Encyclopedic Bibliography of the Host Plants of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Weidemann), Version 1.0,” which was released in 1998 as a Windows-based executable database. MedHost, version 1.1, significantly improves accessibility to this host plant database by developing/establishing it as an internet-based interactive application.