Abstract: 【Aim】 Bactrocera latifrons (Hendel) is one of the most important plant quarantine pests in plant production and trade, and it has wide host range and causes serious damage. Traditional identification methods are limited by such factors as raising period, feeding conditions and developmental stage, thus limiting the clearance rate of customs and quick identification of infestation situation of fruits. For this reason, a rapid identification technique for fruit fly species is desperately needed. 【Methods】 A pair of primers, FL680 and RL1057, was designed and synthesized based on the mtDNA COI sequence. For the PCR amplification and gel electrophoresis, B. latifrons (Hendel) was chosen as the positive control and other 20 species of fruit flies including B. correcta (Bezzi), B. dorsalis (Hendel) and B. cilifer (Hendel) were used as the negative controls. 【Results】 A clear and single 378 bp band was amplified only from B. latifrons, but not from the other 20 fruit flies. The SS-PCR identification method established in this experiment was applied and verified in inspection and quarantine, indicating that this method has high species specificity. 【Conclusion】 The rapid identification method developed here for B. latifrons can be applied in infestation monitoring and quarantine surveillance of fruit flies in ports.

Key words: Bactrocera latifrons, species-specific primers, species-specific PCR (SS-PCR), mtDNA COI, rapid identification