Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Minas Gerais, Brazil: Trophic Interactions and New Reports

Abstract

A diverse orchard with fruit fly hosts may provide information about trophic relationships, including new insights into beneficial insects. We evaluated the composition of the fruit fly complex to provide information on tephritid species, parasitoids and multitrophic interactions for the southern region of Minas Gerais, Brazil. Sampling was carried out using traps and by collecting fruits from plants and/or the ground according to availability/the fruiting period. Occurrences of Anastrepha amita Zucchi and A. punctata Hendel were recorded for the first time in the state of Minas Gerais, and new trophic associations were obtained for A. bahiensis Lima, A. bistrigata Bezzi, A. fraterculus (Wiedemann), A. obliqua (Macquart) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). Ten tephritid species were obtained from trap sampling, with C. capitata, A. fraterculus and A. obliqua being the most abundant. Five species of fruit flies and seven species of parasitoids were obtained from fruits. The braconid Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti) was the most frequently collected among the parasitoid species. Pitanga (Eugenia uniflora L.) and purple guava (Psidium myrtoides O. Berg) fruits were classified as repositories of fruit fly parasitoids.

Keywords

• host fruits
• <i>Ceratitis capitata</i>
• <i>Anastrepha</i>
• parasitoids