Abstract
The bud fly, Dasiops sp. (Diptera: Lonchaeidae), has been implicated in the loss of Passion Fruit buds causing economic damage in the Cau-ca Valley (Colombia). The objetives of this study was to identify those epecies of Da-siops which attack Passion Fruit buds, to evaluate the damage, to study the life cy-cle and to survey the natural enemies of the most abundan species.
Samples were taken from 16 Passion Fruit crops in the Valle del Cauca Department and only D. inedulis Steys-kal was found feeding on the buds. Infestacion percentages were between 21% and 65%. Buds of 1-3 cm were found to be most frequently infested.
In the laboratory the life cycle of D. inedulis was completed in 22.8 days. Adult longevity was 5.9 days in the field, four times longer than in the laboratory. Sex ratio was 1:1, bur neither mating nor oviposition were observed in captivity. The pest's life cycle was found to be related to bud development.
Six species of natural enemies for D. inedulis were detected: two parasi-tes of the genus Opius (Hymenop-tera: Braconidae) and four predators: Zelus rubidus Lethierry Severyn and Zelus sp. (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) and two spiders (Araneida: Thomisidae).
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