Invasion History and Dispersion Dynamics of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly in the Balkan Peninsula

Simple Summary In this article, we have reviewed and analysed all the available information, including in historical records, on the phenology and infestation rate of fruits by the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann 1824; Diptera, Tephritidae), in the Balkan Peninsula, to illustrate and understand the path of invasion and spread dynamics in the northern Mediterranean region and Central Europe. After the medfly was first discovered in an area of the Aegean Sea in 1915, the pest was then detected in the Peloponnese in the early 1930s, along the entire Adriatic coast in the 1950s, and has been found in the Black Sea area since 2005. Since 2000, a significant increase in the frequency of detections has been recorded in the interior of the Balkan Peninsula, including occasional outbreaks in areas with unfavourable climatic conditions for overwintering, which seems to reduce the reproduction of the pest in summer and autumn. In the last 20 years, the medfly has spread to more northern areas and has been detected at higher altitudes. There are 25 host plant species that have been reported as host plants of the medfly in this area. Considering the extremely high invasiveness of the medfly and its wide distribution in several areas of the Balkan Peninsula with different climatic conditions, we can assume that it is adapting to new climatic conditions and infesting new host plants.