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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Wapato, Washington » Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #401272
Research Project: Integrated Approach to Manage the Pest Complex on Temperate Tree Fruits

Location: Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research

Title: First reported infestation of a native honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae) by a native Rhagoletis fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) in North America

Author
item MILNES, JOSHUA - Washington Department Of Agriculture
item GOUGHNOUR, ROBERT - Washington Department Of Agriculture
item BUSH, MIKE - Washington Department Of Agriculture
item DICKERSON, SAPP - Washington Department Of Agriculture
item JAMES, TANYA - Washington Department Of Agriculture
item Yee, Wee
item FEDER, JEFFREY - University Of Notre Dame

Submitted to: Journal of British Columbia Entomological Society
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/23/2023
Publication Date: 12/30/2023
Citation: Milnes, J., Goughnour, R., Bush, M., Dickerson, S., James, T., Yee, W.L., Feder, J. 2023. First reported infestation of a native honeysuckle (Caprifoliaceae) by a native Rhagoletis fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) in North America. Journal of British Columbia Entomological Society. 120. Article e2577.

Interpretive Summary: Host plant shifts have been hypothesized to be an important factor in initiating population divergence and speciation in fruit flies in the genus Rhagoletis. The apple maggot fly is a model organism for host race formation via host shifts, but its sibling species snowberry maggot fly has not been implicated as having shifted host plants since its evolution from apple maggot ancestors, with its only host being snowberry. Personnel at the Washington State Department of Agriculture in Yakima and Olympia, Washington, USDA-ARS Temperature Tree Fruit & Vegetable Research Unit in Wapato, WA, and the University of Notre Dame in Indiana determined that snowberry maggot also infests orange honeysuckle in Washington State. This represents the first reported case of a native honeysuckle infested by a native Rhagoletis in North America. This finding is important because it suggests host shifts in Rhagoletis flies might be more common than previously thought, contributing to our understanding of fly evolution.

Technical Abstract: Sympatric host plant shifts have been hypothesized to often be a critical factor initiating population divergence and speciation in specialized frugivorous Diptera in the genus Rhagoletis. The apple maggot fly Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh) is a model organism for host race formation via host shifts, but its sibling species Rhagoletis zephyria Snow has not been implicated as having shifted host plants since its evolution from R. pomonella ancestors, with its only host being snowberry, Symphoricarpos spp. Here we report R. zephyria infesting orange honeysuckle, Lonicera ciliosa (Pursh) Poiret ex de Candolle (Caprifoliaceae), in Washington State, the first reported case of a native honeysuckle infested by a native Rhagoletis in North America. In 2021 and 2022, orange honeysuckle was infested at two disparate sites in Kittitas and Lewis Counties. PCR methods positively identified the puparia from samples as R. zephyria. Whether our finding in Washington represents a host shift by R. zephyria onto orange honeysuckle or incidental infestations due to deteriorating snowberry condition in September when honeysuckle fruit is optimal for fly attack remains to be determined.