Less than one year to the 4^th International TEAM (Tephritidae workers of Europe, Africa and Middle East) meeting, to be held from 4^th to 8^th October 2020, in La Grande-Motte, France.

Four years after the last meeting in Stellenbosch (South Africa, 2016), this TEAM symposium renews the strong bonds between Europe, Africa and the Middle East, with the aims of bringing together academia, researchers, extension and industry specialists, who will present their latest scientific results and deliberate on a number of pertinent issues on fruit fly biology, ecology and control. 

There's no need to stress the importance of fruit flies for the fruit production economy and the high risk associated to the potential introduction and establishment of those pests in Europe. Fruit flies from tropical countries are frequently intercepted by National Plant Health Service during the phyto-sanitary control at EU points of entry for goods. For example, Bactrocera dorsalis (the oriental fruit fly) was detected for the first time in 2018 in Campania, Southern Italy, during an official survey. For the first time, Drosophila suzukii will be included in this meeting. This invasive pest can be considered as a fruit fly in its own right, with many similarities to Tephritidae due to its difficult management.

More information about program, registration and organization can be found on the official 4th TEAM meeting webpage.