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Title: PEST FRUIT FLIES OF THE WORLD. IDENTIFICATION, DESCRIPTIONS, ILLUSTRATIONS, AND INFORMATION RETRIEVAL.

Author
item CARROLL, L - FORMER SEL
item WHITE, I - NAT. HIST. MUS., LONDON
item FRIEDBERG, A - TEL AVIV UNIVERSITY
item Norrbom, Allen
item DALLWITZ, M - GIRALANG, AUSTRALIA
item Thompson, F

Submitted to: Systematic Entomology Laboratory World Wide Web Site
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/19/2002
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Fruit flies include some of the world's most serious plant pests, causing billions of dollars in losses to a wide variety of fruit, vegetable and flower crops (e.g., citrus, apple, mango, sunflower). Numerous exotic species pose a major threat to U. S. agriculture. Because there are so many similar fruit fly species, it can be difficult to identify the pests. In this new identification aid, the taxonomic information is slightly updated and incorporated into a more user-friendly and efficient computer system (Intkey) available via the Internet. This system will be useful to regulatory agencies such as APHIS-PPQ and state departments of agriculture, responsible for the detection and management of pest fruit fly species.

Technical Abstract: The data set and images from the Fruit Fly Expert Identification System (Thompson 1999, ed.) are updated, reformated, and imported into Intkey. The DELTA data set for the 192 species was rechecked and modified, mainly to correct character dependencies, although a few scoring errors were corrected, several character states were reworded or added, and three text characters (synonymy, common name, distribution), five classification characters (giving subfamily and tribe) and one morphological character (width of cell r2+3 subapical hyaline area) were added. The images were converted for use in Intkey. New or updated adult images were also added for Zonosemata electa and many Anastrepha species.