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ARS Home » Southeast Area » Gainesville, Florida » Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology » Insect Behavior and Biocontrol Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #113323
Title: HYMENOPTERAN PARASITOIDS ON FRUIT-INFESTING TEPHRITIDAE (DIPTERA) IN LATIN AMERICA AND THE SOUTHERN UNITED STATES: DIVERSITY, DISTRIBUTION, TAXONOMIC STATUS AND THEIR USE IN FRUIT FLY BIOLOGICAL CONTROL

Author
item OVRUSKI, SERGIO - INST. ENTOM., ARGENTINA
item ALUJA, MARTIN - INST DE ECOLOGIA, MEXICO
item SIVINSKI, JOHN
item WHARTON, ROBERT - TEXAS A&M, COLLEGE STAT.

Submitted to: Integrated Pest Management Reviews
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/1/2000
Publication Date: 8/1/2000
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: In addition to the direct destruction of fruits and vegetables, tephritid fruit flies are responsible for the erection of quarantines that limit the development of agricultural export economies throughout the tropic and subtropics. There is also the threat that the pest flies of the Neotropics might invade the continental USA with serious repercussions for American agriculture. Biological control may be an important technique to be used for the maintenance of fly-free zones and fruit fly-eradication programs. Before further progress can be made it is necessary to examine the successes and failures of the past in order to determine the best course of action for the future. Scientists at the Center for Medical, Agricultural, and Veterinary have collaborated with colleagues from Latin America and the USA to predict what might be the best course of action and which parasitoids have the greatest potential under New World conditions.

Technical Abstract: We first discuss the diversity of fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) parasitoids (Hymenoptera) of the Neotropics. The emphasis is on Anastrepha parasitoids, although those attacking Ceratitis, Rhagoletis, Rhagoletotrypeta, Toxotrypana, and Zonosemata are also reviewed. We center our analysis in parasitoid guilds, parasitoid assemblage size, and fly host tprofiles. We also discuss distribution patterns and the taxonomic status o all known Anastrepha parasitoids. We follow by providing a historical overview of biological control of pestiferous tephritids in Latin America and Florida (USA) and by analyzing the success or failure of classical and augmentative biological control programs in these regions. We conclude by addressing the needs related to fruit fly biological control in areas of the Neotropics where fruit fly populations severely restrict the development of commercial fruit growing.