First Record of Anastrepha flavipennis Greene (Diptera: Tephritidae) and of its Host in the Brazilian Amazon

SCIENTIFIC NOTE

First Record of Anastrepha flavipennis Greene (Diptera: Tephritidae) and of its Host in the Brazilian Amazon

EC Corrêa; NM Silva; FCC Silva; MR Pena

Lab de Entomologia e Acarologia Agrícola, Faculdade de Ciências Agrárias, Univ Federal do Amazonas Manaus, AM, Brasil

^{Correspondence}

ABSTRACT

Anastrepha flavipennis Greene was obtained from Pouteria glomerata (Sapotaceae) fruits, known as "abiurana-da-várzea" in the Brazilian Amazon. This is the first record of A. flavipennis for the state of Amazonas and of P. glomerata as a host for this fruit fly in the Amazon Basin.

Keywords: Abiurana-da-várzea, fruit fly, Pouteria glomerata, Sapotaceae

Anastrepha flavipennis Greene is recorded in Brazil and Panamá (Stone 1942a), Venezuela and Colombia (Norrbom et al 1998), and Argentina (Foote 1967). In Brazil, this species occurs in the states of Pará, Roraima, Maranhão, Piauí and Minas Gerais (Zucchi 2008).

The objective of this work was to report the occurrence of fruit fly and a new host fruit in the Brazilian Amazon. The importance of sampling native fruit is emphasized considering the little knowledge of hosts of fruit flies in the Brazilian Amazon. Fruits of Pouteria glomerata, "abiurana-da-várzea", were sampled during February and March 2008 in Bom Jesus do Paraná do Iauara community in the municipality of Manacapuru, Amazonas state (03º36'37"S 61º18'19"W). Fruits were taken to an insect-rearing room (photoperiod 12h, 25.0 ± 0.1ºC and 89.0 ± 4.7% RH), counted, weighed and individually placed in 250 ml transparent cages with a 2 cm layer of damp vermiculite at the bottom for larvae pupation. Emerged flies were collected, killed, sexed and preserved in 70% ethanol for further identification.

Pouteria glomerata is a native tree of the Amazon Basin and it is commonly found in flood plain ecosystems. The fruits are green and covered with rusty hairs. Unlike other fruits of the genus, they are not consumed by native people (Braga et al 2007). Most Pouteria species are indigenous to the tropical and subtropical regions of South America, including Brazil, and few species are economically important such Pouteria caimito (Cavalcante 1996).

A total of 527 puparia of A. flavipennis were obtained from 30 fruits (73.2 g) of P.glomerata. The infestation was 24 puparia/kg of fruit or 17. 6 puparia/fruit, but only 92 fruit flies (91 females and 1 male) were obtained from all puparia collected.

Pouteria glomerata and Pouteria stylosa (Sapotaceae) are the only two natural host fruits known for A.flavipennis (Norrbom & Kim 1988). There is also a record of A.flavipennis obtained artificially from Manilkara sapota (Sapotaceae) and Mangifera indica (Anacardiaceae) in Panama (Stone 1942b, Norrbom 2004). This is the first record of A. flavipennis in the Brazilian Amazon and P. glomerata is recorded for the first time as a host for an Anastrepha species in Brazil. Fruit fly voucher specimens are deposited in the entomological collection of the "Universidade Federal do Amazonas", Manaus, and in the United States National Collection, Washington, D.C.

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr Allen L Norrbom (Systematic Entomology Laboratory, USDA-ARS, Beltsville, MD, USA) for the identification of the fruit flies, and Dr Pedro Ivo (Laboratório de Botânica, UFAM) for the identification of the botanical material. FINEP and PETROBRAS for logistical and financial support. EAC Correa and MR Pena were supported by a fellowship from CNPq.

Received 17 September 2010 and accepted 29 December 2010

Edited by Roberto A Zucchi – ESALQ/USP

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Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  14 Sept 2011
• Date of issue
  Aug 2011

History

• Received
  17 July 2010
• Accepted
  29 Dec 2010