Chapters authored
Feeding by Florivorous Flies (Tephritidae and Agromyzidae) in Flower Heads of Neotropical Asteraceae (Asterales) from Central Brazil
The four following Diptera families are peculiar because they are predominantly phytophagous: Cecidomyiidae, Agromyzidae, Lonchaeidae and Tephritidae; which is uncommon for dipterans. Tephritine’s larvae, depending on the species, consumes leaves, stems, flowers or roots of their host plants. Some tephritines feeds on flower heads of weed Asteraceae and can act in population suppression of invasive species in cultivated areas. In Mid-West of Brazil, we investigate Tephritinae and Agromyzinae flies in flower heads of Asteraceae species in three different phytophisiognomies in Dourados region, state of Mato Grosso do Sul. Here, 12 florivore fly species (9 Tephritinae, and 3 Melanagromyza spp., Agromizinae, Agromyzidae) are reported for the first time in Mid-West Brazil. We stablish the species of Asteraceae host for Tephritinae (Tephritidae) and for some species of Melanagromyza (Agromyzinae) in environments of Cerrado, Semideciduous Forest, and agroecosystem at Dourados-MS region. The inflorescences of Asteraceae species (± 500 capitula/species) were kept in containers to the emergence of the florivorous flies or their parasitoids. The adult insects after 48 hours were fixed in 80% ethanol for later identification. A total 36 species of Asteraceae were evaluated in the three regions of Dourados-MS, Brazil. Were obtained 120,031 flower heads of Astereceae, emerging 2,698 adults of insects: 833 Tephritinae (Tephritidae), belonging to 7 genera and 9 species; 1,089 Melanagromyza spp. (Agromyzidae) and 776 parasitoids (Hymenoptera) from the tephritines and agromyzines. We found that some florivore fly species needs to be better studied to employ in suppression programs of invasive Asteraceae population in the Neotropical Region.
Part of the book: The Wonders of Diptera