Species Richness, Population Fluctuations and Damage of Vegetable Crop‐Infesting Fruit Flies in the South Sudanese Zone of Burkina Faso

ABSTRACT Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are important insect pests which can cause huge economic losses to agricultural and horticultural crops around the world. They pose a serious threat to fresh fruit and vegetable production in sub‐Saharan Africa. In Burkina Faso, little is known about the extent of damage caused by these insect pests on vegetable crops and the species responsible. A trapping system combining both sexual and food‐based attractants was set up to characterize fruit fly species in market garden sites. The extent of damage and the fruit fly species involved were determined by sampling and incubating vegetable crop fruits. Eight fruit fly species were trapped in market garden sites, among which Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett) [Diptera: Tephritidae] was the predominant species followed by Dacus vertebratus Bezzi (Diptera: Tephritidae). Five vegetable crops were infested with average attack rates ranging from 2.68% ± 3.68% for eggplant to 60.38% ± 14.73% for watermelon. Five fruit fly species attacked vegetable crop fruits, of which, Dacus vertebratus was the most devastating followed by Zeugodacus cucurbitae . Results of this investigation can be used in developing a sustainable management strategy of vegetable‐infesting fruit flies in South Sudanese zone of Burkina Faso.