ESTABLISHMENT OF RHAGOLETIS POMONELLA (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE) ON ROSE HIPS IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND

Abstract

The apple maggot, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), is an indigenous North American insect whose principal native host is hawthome, Crataegus (Bush 1966). During the past ca. 120 years, this insect has expanded its host range to include fruits of the following introduced plants: apple, Malus sp. (Walsh 1867); domestic plum, Prunus sp. (Herrick 1920); sour cherry, Prunus cerasus L. (Shervis et al. 1970); apricot, Prunus armeniaca L. (Lienk 1970); and pear, Pyrus sp. (Prokopy and Bush 1972). Continuous populations have been established on apple and sour cherry, but apparently only occasional infestations occur on plum, apricot, and pear. Here, we report yet another new host of the apple maggot: the introduced rose hip, Rosa rugosa Thunberg