Field observations on the biology and behavior of the black fig fly Silba adipata McAlpine (Diptera, Lonchaeidae), and trapping experiments

Large populations of the black fig fly, Silba adipata McAlpine, previously misidentified as Lonchaea (Carpolonchaea) aristella Becker, were observed on fig trees in Chios, Greece. On fig trees flies fed mostly during the morning and late afternoon hours, predominantly on sweet exudates from ripe figs and on fresh or dry milky fig-tree sap exuded from injuried plant parts. The odor of this sap attracted the flies. Oviposition always took place in the eye of unripe figs, mostly during the afternoon hours until dark. As many as 63 S. adipata pupae were obtained from a single unripe fig. A parasite, Pachycrepoideus vindemmiae Rondani (Hym., Pteromalidae), emerged from S. adipata pupae. McPhail traps baited with 2% ammonium sulfate or 0.5 to 1 ml fresh fig-tree sap were attractive for the flies. Sticky, yellow traps were not effective