Native and introduced host plants of Anastrepha fraterculus and Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Northwestern Argentina

OVRUSKI, S.; P., SCHLISERMAN Y M. ALUJA

JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY

Allen Press, Inc. ( Entomological society of America)

Lugar: Kansas; Año: 2003 vol. 96 p. 1108 - 1118

0022-0493

  Wild or commercially grown, native and exotic fruits were collected in 30 localities in the Tucumán province (NW Argentina) from January 1990 to December 1995 to determine their status as hosts of Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) and/or Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), the only two fruit fly species of economic and quarantine importance in Argentina.  A total of 84,094 fruits (3,466.1 kg) representing 33 species (7 native and 26 exotic) in 15 plant families were sampled.  We determined the following 17 host plant associations: Annona cherimola Mill. (Annonaceae), Citrus paradisi Macfad. (Rutaceae), Diospyros kaki L. (Ebenaceae), Eugenia uniflora L., Psidium guajava L., Myrcianthes pungens (Berg) Legrand (Myrtaceae), Ficus caraica L. (Moraceae), Juglans australis Grisebach (Juglandaceae), Mangifera indica L. (Anacardiaceae), Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl. Prunus armeniaca L., P. domestica L., and P. persica (L.) Batsch (Rosaceae) were infested by both A. fraterculus and C. capitata, Citrus aurantium L., C. reticulata Blanco, C. sinensis (L.) Osbeck (Rutaceae), and Passiflora caerulea L. (Passifloraceae) were only infested by C. capitata.  Out of a total of 99, 627 adults that emerged from pupae, 69,180 (ca. 69.5%) were A. fraterculus, 30,138 (ca. 30.2%) were C. capitata, and 309 (ca. 0.3%) were an unidentified Anastrepha species.  Anastrepha fraterculus predominated in native plant species while C. capitata did so in introduced ones.  Infestation rates (number of larvae / kg of fruit) varied sharply from year to year and between host plant species (overall there was a significant negative correlation between fruit size and infestation level).  We provide information on fruiting phenology of all the reported hosts and discuss our findings in light of their biological (e.g., host range expansion to novel hosts such as J. australis), ecological (e.g., apparent hurdles for the use of already occupied niches by C. capitata) and practical (e.g., management of A. fraterculus and C. capitata in Citrus groves) implications.