Abstract
Brazil is the fourth world’s largest banana (Musa spp.) producer and largest consumer. Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is the main pest of quarantine importance in the exploration of fresh fruits. This species has shown wide ecological plasticity, with adaptation in several native and exotic hosts and different edaphoclimatic conditions. In November 2017 and March 2018, banana samples of AAB subgroup, Prata Anã, Prata Pacovan and Prata BRS Princesa, were collected from orchards located in the fruit producing region of São Francisco, Juazeiro, Bahia, Brazil. Fruits were sent to the laboratory for processing aimed at obtaining adults. A total of 177 tephritid pupae were obtained in Prata Anã variety, emerging 106 C. capitata adults. The total infestation rates in puparia kg fruit-1 and puparia fruit-1 were 7.45 and 0.70, respectively. Thus, the association between banana and C. capitata was recorded for the first time in Brazil and the probable implications related to this bitrophic association will be discussed.
Index terms
bitrophic interaction; Mediterranean fruit fly; quarantine pest; Prata Anã