Distribution and seasonal activity of adult carrot rust flies (Diptera: Psilidae)

• Published in: The Canadian Entomologist
• Main Authors: Hooper, Laura R.E., Dixon, Peggy L., Larson, David J.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2002
• Subjects: Insect Science; Molecular Biology; Physiology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Structural Biology; Canada; New Zealand; British Columbia; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.4039/ent134703-5; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0008347X00005678

The carrot rust fly, Psila rosae F., is a major pest of carrots, Daucus carota L. (Apiaceae), in the principal production areas of Newfoundland, Quebec, Ontario, and British Columbia (Boivin 1994), as well as in temperate Europe and New Zealand (Ellis and Hardman 1992). Larvae cause damage by tunneling into the roots (Boivin 1994), reducing both yield and marketability. The insect was first recorded in Canada in 1885 but was not reported in Newfoundland until the 1930s (McClanahan and Niemczyk 1963). By the 1950s, P. rosae had spread from an initial infestation around St. John's to commercial farms and home gardens throughout the carrot-growing areas of Bonavista and Conception bays in eastern Newfoundland (Boivin 1994).