ABSTRACT
Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae), Anastrepha spp. and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), are important pests of Brazilian fruit-growing. In order to develop a system of pests integrated management in any region, it is essential to know the parasitoids (hymenoptera) which can regulate the populations of these tefritids. Therefore the objectives of this study were to know the diversity, geographic distribution and tritrophic relations of the hymenoptera parasitoids of fruit flies, in Baixo Jaguaribe region, located in Ceará semiarid, Brazil. Thus, fruits were collected in seven counties of the region, from May 2010 to May 2013. The fruits were taken to the laboratory, where they were counted, weighted, put in plastic trays with vermiculite and closed with voile. After seven or ten days, the vermiculite was sieved to obtain the puparium of the fruit flies. The puparium were counted and put in Petri dish, where they stayed until the emergence of the adults (flies and/or parasitoids). Four species of parasitoids were obtained: Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti), Opius bellus Gahan, Utetes anastrephae (Viereck) (Braconidae) and (Eulophidae), Tetrastichus giffardianusSilvestri and the most frequently and with better geographical distribution in the region was D. areolatus. was Doryctobracon areolatus more common in association with species of Anastrepha - A. sororcula Zucchi, A. obliqua (Mcquart) and A. zenildaeZucchi, in native fruits and with C. capitata in exotic fruits. Tetrastichus giffardianus was obtained only in association with C. capitata in native and exotic fruits. This information can be used for inclusion of parasitoids in future integrated management programs of the fruit flies under the conditions of the Brazilian semiarid region.
Index terms
Fruit-growing; Insects; Diversity; Biological control
