Biology and development of the melon fruit fly, <i>Zeugodacus cucurbitae</i> (Coq.), on various cucurbit hosts

ABSTRACT The melon fruit fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coq.) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a significant pest globally, including in India. However, only limited information is available on the life history of this polyphagous species, making it difficult to manage. This study aimed to investigate host suitability for Z. cucurbitae and to analyse its life table parameters across different developmental stages and sexes on three different cucurbit hosts: bitter gourd ( Momordica charantia L.), cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.), and squash gourd ( Cucurbita pepo L.). Fruit flies were raised in cages (38 × 38 × 45cm 3 ) and reared under controlled atmosphere (25 ± 2°C, 65 ± 5% relative humidity) at Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, India. The results indicated that the life cycle from egg to adult was significantly shorter on bitter gourd (31.03 ± 0.99 days) and (32.53 ± 0.79 days) than on cucumber (32.19 ± 0.97 days) and (35.19 ± 0.63 days) and squash gourd (35.57 ± 0.83 days) and (37.87 ± 0.77 days) male and female, respectively. Females also produced significantly more eggs on bitter gourd (79.90 eggs/female) than on squash gourd (65.90 eggs/female) and cucumber (62.50 eggs/female). These findings indicate that bitter gourd was the most suitable host, highlighting its potential as a food bait for managing Z. cucurbitae .