Different Protein Sources of Larval Diet on the Rearing of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae): Biological and Nutritional Analyses.

Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) is considered an important pest in Neotropical countries. The laboratory rearing of this species should reproduce conditions in nature; thus, special attention is required to the nutritional quality of diets for larval development. Protein components (wheat germ) are costly and account for most production costs in lab insect rearing. In this sense, this work aimed to identify ingredients to replace wheat germ, without compromising diet quality for the lab rearing of A. fraterculus. We tested diets composed of whole rice flour, corn flour, and a mixture of whole wheat flour + soybean flour as substitutes for wheat germ as well as a raw wheat germ diet, considered the control. The protein sources used in the larval diet influenced the biological performance of both the larval and adult stages of A. fraterculus during six generations. The diet containing corn flour and wheat germ showed similar results in the different developmental parameters. The diet with rice flour also provided adequate biological development for A. fraterculus throughout its life cycle and was nutritionally similar to the control. As it is local product, rice flour can replace wheat germ (costly imported product) in artificial diets for A. fraterculus, reducing production costs by roughly 30% without compromising the biological and nutritional parameters of the insects. Faced with this, the rice flour can be considered suitable for the mass rearing of A. fraterculus in the laboratory.

Mating behavior and oviposition of Palpita forficifera (Lepidoptera: Crambidae).

Palpita forficifera Munroe, 1959 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is considered the main pest of the olive tree (Olea europaea L., Oleaceae) in Brazil and Uruguay. The aim of this work was to study the mating and oviposition behavior of P. forficifera in the field and laboratory. In the field, the sex emitting the mating pheromone was determined and in the laboratory, the rate of emergence of males and females; the age, time and duration of mating; number of copulations and oviposition time of P. forficifera were recorded. The field results showed that it was possible to capture up to five males per trap in just one night in traps with the presence of female P. forficifera. Copulation occurs between the seventh and twenty-third day of life and is most frequent during the third and sixth hours of scotophase. The average duration of the first copulation was 174 min, with 35% of couples recopulating, and there were cases of up to five copulations. Oviposition times were concentrated between 20:00 and 02:00. The results obtained provide insight into the reproductive behavior of P. forficifera and are useful for future studies aimed at identifying the sex pheromone to improve monitoring of the pest in olive orchards.

Moscas frugívoras e seus parasitoides nos municípios de Pelotas e Capão do Leão, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Frugivorous flies (Tephritoidea) are the main pests in temperate-zone fruit crop in Brazil. The objective of this research is to evaluate the infestation of these flies and the incidence of their parasitoids in fruit trees from 2007/08 and 2008/9 crops in Pelotas and in Capão do Leão, located in the south of Rio Grande do Sul. Fruits were collected from yellow guava and red guava (Psidium cattleianum Sabine, 1821), pindo palm [Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc., 1916], persimmon (Diospyros kaki Linnaeus, 1753), wild cherry (Eugenia involucrata DC., 1828), guava [Psidium guajava (Linnaeus, 1753)], feijoa tree [Acca sellowiana (Berg.) Burret, 1941], medlar [Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindley, 1822], peach [Prunus persicae (L.) Batsch, 1801], surinam cherry (Eugenia uniflora Linnaeus,1753) and (Eugenia pyriformis Cambessèdes, 1832). The fruit was collected and transported to the laboratory, where the following parameters were individually determined: fly infestation rate, parasitism rate, and its frequency per parasitoid specie. It was found two species of Tephritidae, Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann, 1830) (90.5%) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824) (9.5%) and two of Lonchaeidae, Neosilba zadolicha McAlpine & Steyskal, 1982 (87.8%) and a species not yet described, called Neosilba n. sp. 3 (12.2%). Anastrepha fraterculus is the most abundant species in the two cities and it was detected in most fruit crops collected. The persimmon and the guava were the hosts that showed the highest index of C. capitata infestation. Regarding to the species of Neosilba, the highest infestation occurred in fruits of feijoa tree. From the emerged parasitoids, it was identified three species two of Braconidae, Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti, 1911) (52.6%) and Opius bellus (Gahan, 1930) (27.5%) and a species of Figitidae, Aganaspis pelleranoi (Brèthes, 1924) (20.0%). Doryctobracon areolatus was the most frequent parasitoid in most sampled fruit trees, except for surinam cherry and wild cherry, where O. bellus was predominant and for peach, A. pelleranoi.

As moscas frugívoras (Tephritoidea) são as principais pragas da fruticultura de clima temperado no Brasil. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a infestação desses dípteros e a ocorrência de seus parasitoides em frutíferas nos municípios de Pelotas e Capão do Leão, localizados na região Sul, nas safras agrícolas de 2007/08 e 2008/09. Foram coletados frutos de araçazeiro-amarelo e vermelho (Psidium cattleianum Sabine, 1821), butiazeiro [Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc., 1916], caquizeiro (Diospyros kaki Linnaeus, 1753), cerejeira-do-mato (Eugenia involucrata DC., 1828), goiabeira [Psidium guajava (Linnaeus, 1753)], goiabeira-serrana [Acca sellowiana (Berg.) Burret, 1941], nespereira [Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindley, 1822], pessegueiro [Prunus persicae (L.) Batsch, 1801], pitangueira (Eugenia uniflora Linnaeus,1753) e uvalheira (Eugenia pyriformis Cambessèdes, 1832). Os frutos foram coletados e transportados para o laboratório, onde foram individualizados e determinados os seguintes parâmetros: índice de infestação das moscas, índice de parasitismo e frequência de indivíduos por espécie de parasitoide. Foram constatadas duas espécies de Tephritidae, Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann, 1830) (90,5%) e Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824) (9,5%) e duas de Lonchaeidae, Neosilba zadolicha McAlpine & Steyskal, 1982 (87,8%) e uma espécie ainda não descrita, referida como Neosilba n. sp. 3 (12,2%). Anastrepha fraterculus é a espécie mais abundante nos dois municípios, sendo constatada na maioria das frutíferas coletadas. Caquizeiro e goiabeira foram os hospedeiros que apresentaram o maior índice de infestação por C. capitata. Quanto às espécies de Neosilba, a maior infestação ocorreu em frutos de goiabeira-serrana. Dos parasitoides emergidos, foram identificadas três espécies, sendo duas de Braconidae, Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti, 1911) (52,6%) e Opius bellus (Gahan, 1930) (27,5%) e uma espécie de Figitidae, Aganaspis pelleranoi (Brèthes, 1924) (20,0%). Doryctobracon areolatus foi o parasitoide mais frequente na maioria das frutíferas amostradas, com exceção da pitangueira e cerejeira-do-mato em que predominou O. bellus, e em pessegueiro com predomínio de A. pelleranoi.

Moscas frugívoras e seus parasitoides nos municípios de Pelotas e Capão do Leão, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

Frugivorous flies (Tephritoidea) are the main pests in temperate-zone fruit crop in Brazil. The objective of this research is to evaluate the infestation of these flies and the incidence of their parasitoids in fruit trees from 2007/08 and 2008/9 crops in Pelotas and in Capão do Leão, located in the south of Rio Grande do Sul. Fruits were collected from yellow guava and red guava (Psidium cattleianum Sabine, 1821), pindo palm [Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc., 1916], persimmon (Diospyros kaki Linnaeus, 1753), wild cherry (Eugenia involucrata DC., 1828), guava [Psidium guajava (Linnaeus, 1753)], feijoa tree [Acca sellowiana (Berg.) Burret, 1941], medlar [Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindley, 1822], peach [Prunus persicae (L.) Batsch, 1801], surinam cherry (Eugenia uniflora Linnaeus,1753) and (Eugenia pyriformis Cambessèdes, 1832). The fruit was collected and transported to the laboratory, where the following parameters were individually determined: fly infestation rate, parasitism rate, and its frequency per parasitoid specie. It was found two species of Tephritidae, Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann, 1830) (90.5%) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824) (9.5%) and two of Lonchaeidae, Neosilba zadolicha McAlpine & Steyskal, 1982 (87.8%) and a species not yet described, called Neosilba n. sp. 3 (12.2%). Anastrepha fraterculus is the most abundant species in the two cities and it was detected in most fruit crops collected. The persimmon and the guava were the hosts that showed the highest index of C. capitata infestation. Regarding to the species of Neosilba, the highest infestation occurred in fruits of feijoa tree. From the emerged parasitoids, it was identified three species two of Braconidae, Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti, 1911) (52.6%) and Opius bellus (Gahan, 1930) (27.5%) and a species of Figitidae, Aganaspis pelleranoi (Brèthes, 1924) (20.0%). Doryctobracon areolatus was the most frequent parasitoid in most sampled fruit trees, except for surinam cherry and wild cherry, where O. bellus was predominant and for peach, A. pelleranoi.

As moscas frugívoras (Tephritoidea) são as principais pragas da fruticultura de clima temperado no Brasil. O objetivo do presente trabalho foi avaliar a infestação desses dípteros e a ocorrência de seus parasitoides em frutíferas nos municípios de Pelotas e Capão do Leão, localizados na região Sul, nas safras agrícolas de 2007/08 e 2008/09. Foram coletados frutos de araçazeiro-amarelo e vermelho (Psidium cattleianum Sabine, 1821), butiazeiro [Butia capitata (Mart.) Becc., 1916], caquizeiro (Diospyros kaki Linnaeus, 1753), cerejeira-do-mato (Eugenia involucrata DC., 1828), goiabeira [Psidium guajava (Linnaeus, 1753)], goiabeira-serrana [Acca sellowiana (Berg.) Burret, 1941], nespereira [Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindley, 1822], pessegueiro [Prunus persicae (L.) Batsch, 1801], pitangueira (Eugenia uniflora Linnaeus,1753) e uvalheira (Eugenia pyriformis Cambessèdes, 1832). Os frutos foram coletados e transportados para o laboratório, onde foram individualizados e determinados os seguintes parâmetros: índice de infestação das moscas, índice de parasitismo e frequência de indivíduos por espécie de parasitoide. Foram constatadas duas espécies de Tephritidae, Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann, 1830) (90,5%) e Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824) (9,5%) e duas de Lonchaeidae, Neosilba zadolicha McAlpine & Steyskal, 1982 (87,8%) e uma espécie ainda não descrita, referida como Neosilba n. sp. 3 (12,2%). Anastrepha fraterculus é a espécie mais abundante nos dois municípios, sendo constatada na maioria das frutíferas coletadas. Caquizeiro e goiabeira foram os hospedeiros que apresentaram o maior índice de infestação por C. capitata. Quanto às espécies de Neosilba, a maior infestação ocorreu em frutos de goiabeira-serrana. Dos parasitoides emergidos, foram identificadas três espécies, sendo duas de Braconidae, Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti, 1911) (52,6%) e Opius bellus (Gahan, 1930) (27,5%) e uma espécie de Figitidae, Aganaspis pelleranoi (Brèthes, 1924) (20,0%). Doryctobracon areolatus foi o parasitoide mais frequente na maioria das frutíferas amostradas, com exceção da pitangueira e cerejeira-do-mato em que predominou O. bellus, e em pessegueiro com predomínio de A. pelleranoi.