Co-author on paper on population dynamics of the peach fruit fly in Egypt

by | Mar 21, 2025

I have been fortunatete to be invited as an external collaborator in the later stages of a long-term project looking at the population dynamics in two agricultural regions in Egypt over the past 10 years. I was mainly involved in the data analysis and write-up stages. The peach fruit fly (Bactrocera zonata) is a serious agricultural pest on…. . It is an invasive species that has been present in Egypt since 1993. In the study, we found that the population peaks at slightly different times of the year in the two regions and that temperature is the main driver. Over the longer term the populations in both regions have been increasing, possibly as a consequence of climate change. The paper has now been published in the journal Insect’s special issue on Insect Dynamics: Modeling in Insect Pest Management.

Soliman, M.M., EL-Solimany, E.A., Hesselberg, T.and Negm, A.A.K.H. (2025). Seasonal and Long-Term Population Dynamics of the Peach Fruit Fly in Egypt. Insects 16, 332. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects16040332

Abstract
The peach fruit fly (Bactrocera zonata), a significant polyphagous pest, poses a considerable threat to fruit crops across its expanding range. Although climate change significantly impacts pest populations, its effects on B. zonata remain understudied. This research examined B. zonata population dynamics across two distinct Egyptian ecological zones (Sohag and Ismailia Governorates) from 2013–2023 using pheromone traps and climate data. Results revealed significant spatial and temporal variations in abundance patterns. Both regions displayed a unimodal distribution, with Sohag exhibiting a distinct peak during September to November, whereas Ismailia showed a broader peak period spanning from August to December. Temperature significantly influenced population levels while precipitation showed no significant effect. Similarly, our results indicated increasing population trends in both regions despite no significant long-term temperature changes. These findings suggest that factors beyond temperature alone, such as host fruit availability, regional environmental variations, and potentially evolving agricultural practices, drive B. zonata population growth, highlighting the need for comprehensive, climate-responsive pest management strategies that account for regional variations.