Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #300645
Title: A new species of Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) from Euphorbia tehuacana (Euphorbiaceae) in Mexico

Author
item Norrbom, Allen
item CASTILLO-MEZA - Universidad De Las Americas, Puebla (MEXICO)
item GARCIA-CHAVEZ - Universidad De Las Americas, Puebla (MEXICO)
item ALUJA, M. - Institute De Ecologia - Mexico
item RULL, J. - Institute De Ecologia - Mexico

Submitted to: Zootaxa
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/3/2014
Publication Date: 3/24/2014
Publication URL: http://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/61120
Citation: Norrbom, A.L., Castillo-Meza, Garcia-Chavez, Aluja, M., Rull, J. 2014. A new species of Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) from Euphorbia tehuacana (Euphorbiaceae) in Mexico. Zootaxa. 3780:567-576.

Interpretive Summary: The family of true fruit flies includes numerous major agricultural pests throughout the world. The majority of species that are pests in the American tropics and subtropics, and that threaten fruit industries in the southern United States, belong to a large group that contains more than 250 species. Precise taxonomic data are necessary to recognize the pest species in this group. In this paper, a species from Mexico is recognized and described for the first time. It is compared with the most similar previously known species, and identification tools, descriptions and illustrations are provided. Its host plant, a rare species of euphorb, is also reported. The ability to recognize these flies is essential to regulatory agencies such as APHIS-PPQ to prevent the spread of the pest species. The information provided will also be valuable to scientists studying the biology and control of fruit fly pests.

Technical Abstract: Anastrepha tehuacana, a new species of Tephritidae (Diptera) from Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico reared from seeds of Euphorbia tehuacana (Brandegee) V.W. Steinm. (Euphorbiaceae), is described and illustrated. Its probable relationship to A. relicta Hernández-Ortiz is discussed.