This species belongs to a complex of sibling species. It is known to attack at least 34 host plant species in 26 genera and 19 families.
Adults mate at dusk.
Females oviposit in ripening fruits as well as in fallen fruits. Laboratory colonies of this species, reared on papaya-based diet, are maintained in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and Cook Islands. Heat tolerance studies have been completed in Fiji, Tonga and Cook Islands, and have been published. Damage assessments have provided data on percent of ripe edible fruits infested by Pacific fruit fly. Methyl eugenol trapping and regular host fruit surveys of high risk species, especially breadfruit and papaya.