Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and their parasitoids associated with acerola, mango, and guava in the municipality of Brasil Novo, Pará

Abstract

Fruit flies are phytophagous insects that are important because of the damages caused to fruits, mainly by larvae that feed on the pulp. Surveys of the diversity of these tefritids are still scarce in Brazil, especially in the Amazon region, the objective of this study was to establish the tritrophic relationship existing between species of Anastrepha, their parasitoids, and the fruits acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC.), mango (Mangifera indica L.), and guava (Psidium guajava L.) in the municipality of Brasil Novo, Pará. Freshly fallen fruits were collected weekly from January to December 2018, in three farms. Throughout the survey, 4,324 puparium were collected in guavas, 2,682 in mangoes, and 644 in acerolas. The species Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart, 1835) were identified in mango (90.3%), acerola (7.7%) and guava (2.1%), and Anastrepha striata Schiner, 1868 were identified in guava (98.8%) and acerola (1.2%). Five species of parasitoids were identified in association with A. obliqua and six species of parasitoids were identified in association with A. striata. The specie Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti, 1911) was the most frequent among the species of parasitoids recorded.

Identification of fruit fly (Tephritidae) pupae parasitized by hymenoptera parasitoids

“…Fruit flies can be considered very important for fruit production in the world, as they can cause economic losses that lead to increased costs of management practices of orchards. The maggots of these flies can cause the fruit to fall while still unripe or even make it inedible, as they feed on the seeds or cause tunnelling within the fruit, which favours the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms (Aluja and Mangan, 2008; Souza et al, 2021).…”

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Fruit flies can be considered very important for fruit production in the world, as they can cause economic losses that lead to increased costs of management practices of orchards. The maggots of these flies can cause the fruit to fall while still unripe or even make it inedible, as they feed on the seeds or cause tunnelling within the fruit, which favours the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms (Aluja and Mangan, 2008;Souza et al, 2021).The main method of controlling fruit flies is by using insecticides, but biological control is also used. Among the different tools of biological control, the use of Hymenoptera parasitoids, which naturally control populations of flies, is noteworthy (Araujo et al, 2015;Uchoa, 2012).Parasitoid wasps are the most diverse group of parasitoids used in biological control programs.

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Identification of fruit fly (Tephritidae) pupae parasitized by Hymenoptera parasitoids

“…Fruit ies can be considered very important for fruit production in the world, as they can cause economic losses that lead to increased costs of management practices of orchards. The maggots of these ies can cause the fruit to fall while still unripe or even make it inedible, as they feed on the seeds or cause tunneling within the fruit, which favors the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms (Aluja and Morga 2008; Souza et al 2021).…”