Hot water immersion to ensure quarantine security for Cryptophlebia spp. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in lychee and longan exported from Hawaii.

We determined whether immersion in 49 degrees C water for 20 min, a quarantine treatment developed for disinfestation of fruit flies in lychee, Litchi chinensis Sonn., and longan, Dimocarpus longan (Lourd.) Steud., exported from Hawaii, would also disinfest fruit of two species of Cryptophlebia. The pattern of tolerance to heat in Cryptophlebia illepida (Butler) was generally eggs < neonates < early instars = late instars < pupae. No C. illepida survived immersion for 16 or 20 min. Late fourth and fifth instars were determined to be the most tolerant stage that occurs in harvested fruit. Late instars of Cryptophlebia ombrodelta (Lower) were more tolerant of hot-water immersion than those of C. illepida, but no C. ombrodelta late instars survived immersion for 16 or 20 min. The hot water immersion quarantine treatment for fruit flies should effectively disinfest lychees and longans of any Cryptophlebia.     

Effects of methyl bromide concentration, fumigation time, and fumigation temperature on Mediterranean and oriental fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) egg and larval survival

The effects of methyl bromide (MB) concentration (16, 32,48, or 64 g/m3), fumigation temperature (15, 20, 25, or 30 degrees C), and fumigation time interactions on the survival of Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), and oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), eggs and first and third instars were recorded. Increasing the fumigation temperature from 15 to 20 degrees C or from 20 to 25 degrees C resulted in a significant reduction in fumigation time required for equivalent egg and larval mortalities at all studied MB concentrations; no further reductions in fumigation time resulted from increasing the temperature from 25 to 30 degrees C. Conversely, increasing temperature and time allowed for a reduction in MB concentration to obtain equivalent mortality. Thus, the optimum fumigation temperature for Mediterranean and oriental fruit fly eggs and larvae was 25 degrees C. Reducing MB concentrations required for phytosanitary fumigations would save time and expense, and reduce the amount of MB released into the atmosphere during aeration. Mediterranean fruit fly was as or more tolerant to MB than oriental fruit fly in MB tolerance for eggs and first instars. The egg stage was generally more tolerant to MB regardless of concentration. However, Mediterranean fruit fly eggs showed similar tolerance to first instars at 25 degrees C for the three highest concentrations and to third instars at 25 and 30 degrees C for the highest concentration, with no significant difference between them. Therefore, eggs alone can be used to obtain MB fumigation efficacy and quarantine security data at fumigation temperatures between 15 and 30 degrees C for Mediterranean and oriental fruit fly.     

Revised irradiation doses to control melon fly, Mediterranean fruit fly, and oriental fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) and a generic dose for tephritid fruit flies

Currently approved irradiation quarantine treatment doses for Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillet), melon fly; Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), Mediterranean fruit fly; and Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), oriental fruit fly, infesting fruits and vegetables for export from Hawaii to the continental United States are 210, 225, and 250 Gy, respectively. Irradiation studies were initiated to determine whether these doses could be reduced to lower treatment costs, minimize any adverse effects on quality, and support a proposed generic irradiation dose of 150 Gy for fruit flies. Dose-response tests were conducted with late third instars of wild and laboratory strains of the three fruit fly species, both in diet and in fruit. After x-ray irradiation treatment, data were taken on adult emergence, and adult female fecundity and fertility. Melon fly was the most tolerant of the three species to irradiation, and oriental fruit fly was more tolerant than Mediterranean fruit fly. Laboratory and wild strains of each species were equally tolerant of irradiation, and larvae were more tolerant when irradiated in fruit compared with artificial diet. An irradiation dose of 150 Gy applied to 93,666 melon fly late third instars in papayas resulted in no survival to the adult stage, indicating that this dose is sufficient to provide quarantine security. Irradiation doses of 100 and 125 Gy applied to 31,920 Mediterranean fruit fly and 55,743 oriental fruit fly late third instars, respectively, also resulted in no survival to the adult stage. Results support a proposed generic irradiation quarantine treatment dose of 150 Gy for all tephritid fruit flies.     

Susceptibility of low-chill blueberry cultivars to Mediterranean fruit fly, oriental fruit fly, and melon fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)

No-choice tests were conducted to determine whether fruit of southern highbush blueberry, Vaccinium corymbosum L., hybrids are hosts for three invasive tephritid fruit flies in Hawaii. Fruit of various blueberry cultivars was exposed to gravid female flies of Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel (oriental fruit fly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Mediterranean fruit fly), or Bactrocera cucurbitae Coquillet (melon fly) in screen cages outdoors for 6 h and then held on sand in the laboratory for 2 wk for pupal development and adult emergence. Each of the 15 blueberry cultivars tested were infested by oriental fruit fly and Mediterranean fruit fly, confirming that these fruit flies will oviposit on blueberry fruit and that blueberry is a suitable host for fly development. However, there was significant cultivar variation in susceptibility to fruit fly infestation. For oriental fruit fly, 'Sapphire' fruit produced an average of 1.42 puparia per g, twice as high as that of the next most susceptible cultivar 'Emerald' (0.70 puparia per g). 'Legacy', 'Biloxi', and 'Spring High' were least susceptible to infestation, producing only 0.20-0.25 oriental fruit fly puparia per g of fruit. For Mediterranean fruit fly, 'Blue Crisp' produced 0.50 puparia per g of fruit, whereas 'Sharpblue' produced only 0.03 puparia per g of fruit. Blueberry was a marginal host for melon fly. This information will aid in development of pest management recommendations for blueberry cultivars as planting of low-chill cultivars expands to areas with subtropical and tropical fruit flies. Planting of fruit fly resistant cultivars may result in lower infestation levels and less crop loss.     

Field infestation of rambutan fruits by internal-feeding pests in Hawaii

More than 47,000 mature fruits of nine different varieties of rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum L.) were harvested from orchards in Hawaii to assess natural levels of infestation by tephritid fruit flies and other internal feeding pests. Additionally, harvested, mature fruits of seven different rambutan varieties were artificially infested with eggs or first-instars of Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), or oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae) to assess host suitability. When all varieties were combined over two field seasons of sampling, fruit infestation rates were 0.021% for oriental fruit fly, 0.097% for Cryptophlebia spp. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), and 0.85% for pyralids (Lepidoptera). Species of Cryptophlebia included both C. illepida (Butler), the native Hawaiian species, and C. ombrodelta (Lower), an introduced species from Australia. Cryptophlebia spp. had not previously been known to attack rambutan. The pyralid infestation was mainly attributable to Cryptoblabes gnidiella (Milliere), a species also not previously recorded on rambutan in Hawaii. Overall infestation rate for other moths in the families Blastobasidae, Gracillariidae, Tineidae, and Tortricidae was 0.061%. In artificially infested fruits, both species of fruit fly showed moderately high survivorship for all varieties tested. Because rambutan has such low rates of infestation by oriental fruit fly and Cryptophlebia spp., the two primary internal-feeding regulatory pests of rambutan in Hawaii, it may be amenable to the alternative treatment efficacy approach to postharvest quarantine treatment.     

Reaction orders for thermal mortality of third instars of Mexican fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew), is a quarantine pest of several fruit, including citrus, avocados, and mangoes, from extreme southern Texas to Costa Rica. To provide information for modeling heat phytosanitary treatments, third instars were heated with an aluminum heating block between 44 and 50 degrees C for time intervals up to those causing 100% mortality. At 44 and 50 degrees C, 100% mortality was achieved at 100 and 2 min, respectively. Each 2 degrees C increase in temperature resulted in a three-fourths reduction in the amount of time required to achieve 100% mortality. Mortality was modeled using thermal death kinetics, and the most suitable reaction order was the 0.5th. The thermal death activation energy was 560.7 kJ/mol, which is very similar to the value found for Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), in a previous study, indicating similar modes of action for heat mortality. However, the Mexican fruit fly had a lower threshold for heat-induced mortality, resulting in less time at all temperatures studied to achieve 100% mortality compared with the Mediterranean fruit fly. This type of information being gathered for fruit flies could lead to the development of generic phytosanitary heat treatments, which are available for other major phytosanitary treatments, such as cold storage, methyl bromide fumigation, and ionizing irradiation.     

Egg–larval opiine parasitoids (Hym., Braconidae) of tephritid fruit fly pests do not attack the flowerhead-feeder Trupanea dubautiae (Dipt., Tephritidae)

Abstract:  We investigated the potential impact of three opiine tephritid fruit fly parasitoids: Fopius arisanus (Sonan), Fopius caudatus (Szépligeti) and Fopius ceratitivorus Wharton, on the non-target native Hawaiian tephritid, Trupanea dubautiae (Bryan), infesting flowerheads of the endemic Asteraceae shrub Dubautia raillardioides Hillebrand. The three species are the only known opiine fruit fly parasitoids that attack host eggs (but occasionally attack first instars). F. arisanus , which originated in southeast Asia, is now widely established in Hawaii and elsewhere in the world, while the other two are African species currently in quarantine in Hawaii. In the laboratory, field-collected flowerheads of D. raillardioides containing T. dubautiae eggs and first instar larvae were exposed to naïve female wasps of each of the three Fopius species in the absence (no-choice test) or presence (choice test) of papaya fruit infested with eggs of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), the parasitoids' normal host. All three Fopius species visited the papaya fruit much more often than the flowerheads, and displayed normal ovipositional responses (probing and stinging) on the fruit in the choice test. None of the three parasitoid species showed ovipositional responses to flowerheads in either choice or no-choice tests. As a result, not a single T. dubautiae egg or larva was attacked by any of the three parasitoids, indicating that these parasitoids of pest tephritids are unable to recognize the microhabitats of flowerhead-feeding tephritids. The results suggest minimal risk of non-target impact in these biological control agents.     

地中海实蝇与植物检疫

地中海实蝇Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann)是国际上十分重要的检疫性害虫,也是我国植物检疫工作中重要防御的检疫性害虫之一,近年来,从我国口岸检疫中共截获地中海实蝇12次。这充分表明了其潜在的危险性。为此,我国采取了一系列严格的检疫措施,有效地防止地中海实蝇传入。同时,为适应改革开放和国际贸易的发展,对检疫政策进行了调整,积极开展对水果、蔬菜的有害生物风险分析(PRA)研究工作,根据国际标准,划定非疫区范围,使植物检疫对贸易的不利影响降到最低限度,以促进水果、蔬菜进出口贸易的发展。     

Cold treatment for guava fruits infested with oriental fruit fly,Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Guava (Psidium guajava Linnaeus) is an important horticulture crop in tropical and subtropical regions. However, guava transportation to the fruit market is regulated due to the risk of fruit fly infestations. The oriental fruit fly [Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), Tephritidae, Diptera], which damages numerous horticulture fruits, is the primary pest in guava. For fruit export, phytosanitary treatment is necessary to prevent the potential oriental fruit fly infestations through pest-infested fruits. In this study, cold treatment was administered to eliminate oriental fruit fly infestations in guava fruits. The optimal egg inoculation density was 200 eggs per fruit, and third instar larvae displayed the highest cold treatment tolerance. On assessing the efficacy of cold treatment, none of the third instar larvae in the fruits survived at a constant fruit core temperature of 0.5–1 °C for 11 days. A confirmatory test revealed that on maintaining a fruit core temperature of 0.5–1 °C for 12 days, 100% mortality was achieved among the fruit flies. In fruit quality assessment, guava fruits exposed to cold treatment still maintained their market value. Thus, cold treatment effectively disinfested guava fruits with possible fruit fly infestations, making it a viable quarantine treatment for guava fruits prior to their export.     

Diachasmimorpha longicaudata and D. kraussii (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), potential parasitoids of the olive fruit fly

The olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Tephritidae), is a significant threat to California's olive industry. As part of a classical biological control program started in 2002, the parasitoids Diachasmimorpha kraussii and D. longicaudata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) were imported to California from laboratory colonies in Hawaii. Studies on their biology and behavior as parasitoids of the olive fruit fly were conducted in quarantine. Both species tend to oviposit into 2nd and young 3rd instars, with the offspring completing development in the flies’ puparia. Most eggs are deposited in the first two weeks of adult life. Observed lifetime fecundity was low, possibly as a consequence of the relatively poor quality of the harvested olives used as a host substrate. Both pre-imaginal development and adult longevity were limited at constant temperatures above 30°C, which may indicate that these species will have difficulty establishing in the warmest regions of California.     

桔小实蝇、木瓜实蝇和番石榴实蝇耐热性的热动力学分析

果实蝇属是重要的检疫性有害生物之一, 其中桔小实蝇Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel)、 木瓜实蝇B. papayae Drew & Hancock和番石榴实蝇B. correcta (Bezzi)近几年在口岸检出率居高。本研究利用热水浸泡处理法比较这3种实蝇的卵、 1龄幼虫和3龄幼虫在44~47℃下的耐热性, 利用热动力学模型和活化能比较每种实蝇的耐热虫态以确定耐热种。结果表明： 在测定温度范围内, 3种实蝇卵、 1龄幼虫和3龄幼虫的死亡率都与处理时间呈正相关。热动力学系数取0.5时, 最适合热动力学模型预测3种实蝇在各实验温度LT_99.9968的致死时间。3种实蝇在44~47℃耐热性均为： 卵>1龄幼虫>3龄幼虫。番石榴实蝇在3种实蝇中最耐热。本研究结果为实蝇热处理指标的制定提供了实验依据。     

Postharvest heat and cold treatment to control Ceratitis capitata on cactus pear fruit

In order to work out a quarantine treatment for cactus pear fruit a factorial experimental plan was carried combining postharvest water dips at 20, 50, 54, 58 and 60 degrees C and storage at 1 degrees C for 3, 6 and 10 days. Cactus pear fruit cv 'Rossa' were artificially infested with Med. fly eggs (at least 20 eggs per fruit) then left in the lab at 25 degrees C for 4 days. Treatments took place by dipping the fruit at each water temperature for 2 mm. At each established time fruit was picked and checked for vital larvae and degree of chilling injury (CI). Probit 9 requirements were achieved in all cases when fruit was cold-stored for 10 days. When fruit was kept for 6 days the quarantine requirement was achieved only by dipping the fruit at 58 and 60 degrees C while none dip treatment was effective if fruit was stored for 3 days at 1 degrees C. All Fruit stored for 10 days at 1 degrees C showed severe CI symptoms and when kept for 6 days the same degree of CI was found on fruit dipped in water at 20, 58 and 60 degrees C. No CI was observed after 3 days at 1 degrees C. In conclusion only when fruit was dipped at 50-54 degrees C and stored for 10 days at 1 degrees C the probit 9 condition was attained with acceptable CI symptoms.     

Confirmation and efficacy tests against codling moth and oriental fruit moth in apples using combination heat and controlled atmosphere treatments

Codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), and oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta (Busck), are serious pests of apples (Malus spp.) grown in the United States and other countries. In countries where these species are not found, there are strict quarantine restrictions in place to prevent their accidental introduction. The treatment used in this study consisted of hot, forced, moist air with a linear heating rate of 12 degrees C/h to a final chamber temperature of 46 degrees C under a 1% oxygen and 15% carbon dioxide environment. We found that the fourth instar of both species was the most tolerant to the treatment, with equal tolerance between the species. Efficacy tests against the fourth instar of both oriental fruit moth and codling moth by using a commercial controlled atmosphere temperature treatment system chamber resulted in > 5,000 individuals of each species being controlled using the combination treatment. Confirmation tests against codling moth resulted in mortality of > 30,000 fourth instars. These treatments may be used to meet quarantine restrictions for organic apples where fumigation with methyl bromide is not desirable.     

Psyttalia cf. concolor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) for biological control of olive fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) in California

The larval parasitoid, Psyttalia cf. concolor (Szépligeti), reared on Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Weidemann), by the USDA-APHIS-PPQ, Guatemala City, Guatemala, was imported into California for biological control of olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin), in olives, Olea europaea L. Mean percentage parasitism of olive fruit fly third instars infesting fruit in field cages ranged from 7.0 in Grapevine to 59.7 in Santa Barbara and in free releases ranged from 0 in Grapevine to 10.6 in Santa Barbara after 4- to 6-d exposures. In the laboratory, more parasitoids developed to adults in olive fruit fly larvae that were 11-13 d old than in larvae 8-10 d old. Adult parasitoids lived significantly longer when provided with water than adults without water in environmental chambers at 5 degrees C, 85% RH; 15 degrees C, 65% RH; 25 degrees C, 25% RH; and 35 degrees C, 25% RH. Adult parasitoids lived for 48 d with honey for food and water and 32 d with food and sugar solution at 15 degrees C and 65% RH. Survival of adult parasitoids without food and water in greenhouse tests was approximately 4 d in a simulated coastal climate and 1 d in a simulated inland valley climate and was significantly increased by providing food and water. The parasitoid did not develop in the beneficial seedhead fly, Chaetorellia succinea (Costa), in yellow star thistle. The rate of parasitism of walnut husk fly, Rhagoletis completa Cresson, larvae in green walnut husks was 28.4% in laboratory no-choice tests. In choice tests, the rate of parasitism of walnut husk fly versus olive fruit fly larvae in olives was 11.5 and 24.2%, respectively.     

Reproductive biology of Fopius ceratitivorus (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), an egg–larval parasitoid of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The reproductive biology of Fopius ceratitivorus Wharton, a recently discovered African parasitoid, was studied in quarantine in Hawaii to facilitate its mass production for biological control of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata. Mean longevity of host-deprived and ovipositing females was 17.3 ± 0.9 d and 16.2 ± 0.5 d, respectively. Ovarian maturation peaked at 61.6 mature eggs per female on the fifth day after eclosion and declined thereafter. Mean number of offspring produced per day by mated females was 5.1 ± 0.4, and realized fecundity expressed as total eggs deposited during the female’s life time was 107.8 ± 12.8. Females were more attracted, to and reproduced significantly more, in fruit substrates containing odors of adult flies and eggs rather than fruit substrates artificially inoculated with fly eggs. Our findings suggest that F. ceratitivorus is a promising new parasitoid for biological control of C. capitata in Hawaii.     

Ionizing irradiation quarantine treatment against oriental fruit moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in ambient and hypoxic atmospheres

Oriental fruit moth, Grapholita molesta (Busck), is a pest of many rosaceous temperate fruits, including pomes, Malus spp., and stone fruits, Prunus spp., in much of the world. However, some areas are free of the pest, and shipments of fruit hosts from infested to noninfested areas may be regulated. Current quarantine treatments for oriental fruit moth include methyl bromide fumigation and cold storage for several weeks. Methyl bromide use is being restricted because it is a stratospheric ozone-depleting substance, and alternatives are sought. Cold is not tolerated by many hosts of oriental fruit moth. The objective of this research was to develop irradiation quarantine treatments against the pest under ambient and hypoxic storage conditions because some hosts of oriental fruit moth are stored in hypoxic atmospheres, and hypoxia is known to lessen the effects of irradiation. In ambient atmospheres, no adults emerged from 58,779 fifth instars (the most radiotolerant stage present in fruit) irradiated with a target dose of 200 Gy (195-232 Gy measured). In atmospheres flushed with nitrogen, 5.3% of adults emerged from 44,050 fifth instars irradiated with a target dose of 200 Gy (194-230 Gy measured), but they died at a faster rate than control adults and without laying eggs. A dose of 232 Gy (the maximum recorded when 200 Gy was targeted) is recommended to disinfest any fruit of oriental fruit moth under ambient and hypoxic atmospheres.     

Potential increase in fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) interceptions using ionizing irradiation phytosanitary treatments

Irradiation postharvest phytosanitary treatments are used increasingly and show further promise because of advantages compared with other treatments. Its chief disadvantage is that, unlike all other commercially used treatments, it does not provide acute mortality, although it prevents insects from completing development or reproducing. The objective of this research was to determine to what extent irradiated egg and early instars of tephritids would develop to later instars that could be found by phytosanitary inspectors or consumers. Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew), eggs and first instars in grapefruit, Citrus paradisi Macfayden, were irradiated with 70-250 Gy and held at approximately equal to 27 degrees C until third instars completed development. The accepted minimum absorbed phytosanitary dose for this pest is 70 Gy, although higher doses may be applied under commercial conditions. The more developed a fruit fly before it was irradiated, the greater the proportion that survived to the third instar. Also, dose was inversely related to developmental success, e.g., a mean of approximately 65 and 35%, respectively, of late first instars reached the third instar when irradiated with 70 and 250 Gy. Of those, 65.1 and 23.4%, respectively, pupariated, although no adults emerged. Irradiation may result in a greater frequency of live (albeit incapable of resulting in an infestation) larvae being found than would be expected compared with other treatments that provide acute mortality. The regulatory community should be aware of this and the fact that it does not increase the risk of irradiation phytosanitary treatments resulting in an infestation of quarantine pests.     

Combined heat and controlled atmosphere quarantine treatments for control of western cherry fruit fly in sweet cherries

Nonchemical quarantine treatments, using a combination of short duration high temperatures under low oxygen, elevated carbon dioxide atmospheric environment were developed to control western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens Curran, in sweet cherries, Prunus avium (L.). The two treatments developed use a chamber temperature of 45 degrees C for 45 min and a chamber temperature of 47 degreesd C for 25 min, both under a 1% oxygen, 15% carbon dioxide, -2 degrees C dew point environment. Both these treatments have been shown to provide control of all life stages of western cherry fruit fly while preserving commodity market quality. There was no definitive egg or larval stage, which was demonstrated to be the most tolerant to either controlled atmosphere temperature treatment system treatment. Efficacy tests for both treatments resulted in 100% mortality of >5000 western cherry fruit flies in each treatment. These treatments may provide, with further study, quarantine security in exported sweet cherries where western cherry fruit fly is a quarantine concern and fumigation with methyl bromide is not desired.     

Potential for high hydrostatic pressure processing to control quarantine insects in fruit

Tests were conducted to determine the potential for high hydrostatic pressure (HPP) to control codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), and western cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis indifferens Curran. Apples (Malus spp.) with codling moth larvae or eggs were treated at 24 and 72 h, respectively, after infestation at a series of pressures between 14,000 and 26,000 pounds per inch2 (psi). Survivorship was determined the next day for larvae and after 10 d for eggs. Codling moth eggs were more tolerant of HPP treatment than larvae. Mortality of larvae was 97% at 22,000 psi, whereas mortality of eggs at this dose was 29% and not significantly different from the untreated controls. In a second study, no codling moth eggs hatched at any high pressure treatment between 30,000 and 80,000 psi, indicating these pressures were lethal. Various stages of western cherry fruit fly were treated at pressures from 10,000 to 45,000 psi, and survivorship was determined after 24 h. Eggs and third instars were more tolerant of HPP than the first and second instars. Mortality was 100% in western cherry fruit fly eggs and larvae at pressures > or =25,000 psi. Apple and sweet cherry quality after high pressure treatment was poor, but high pressure may have applications to control quarantine pests in other fruits.     

Psyttalia ponerophaga (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) as a potential biological control agent of olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae) in California

The olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), is a newly invasive, significant threat to California's olive industry. As part of a classical biological control programme, Psyttalia ponerophaga (Silvestri) was imported to California from Pakistan and evaluated in quarantine. Biological parameters that would improve rearing and field-release protocols and permit comparisons to other olive fruit fly biological control agents were measured. Potential barriers to the successful establishment of P. ponerophaga, including the geographic origins of parasitoid and pest populations and constraints imposed by fruit size, were also evaluated as part of this investigation. Under insectary conditions, all larval stages except neonates were acceptable hosts. Provided a choice of host ages, the parasitoids' host-searching and oviposition preferences were a positive function of host age, with most offspring reared from hosts attacked as third instars. Immature developmental time was a negative function of tested temperatures, ranging from 25.5 to 12.4 days at 22 and 30 degrees C, respectively. Evaluation of adult longevity, at constant temperatures ranging from 15 to 34 degrees C, showed that P. ponerophaga had a broad tolerance of temperature, living from 3 to 34 days at 34 and 15 degrees C, respectively. Lifetime fecundity was 18.7 +/- 2.8 adult offspring per female, with most eggs deposited within 12 days after adult eclosion. Olive size affected parasitoid performance, with lower parasitism levels on hosts feeding in larger olives. The implications of these findings are discussed with respect to field manipulation and selection of parasitoid species for olive fruit fly biological control in California and worldwide.