Skip to main content
ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #408981
Research Project: Systematics of Beetles, Flies, Moths and Wasps with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: Color morphs in Anastrepha nigrotaenia (Enderlein), new combination (Diptera: Tephritidae), and resultant synonymy

Author
item Norrbom, Allen
item MOORE, MATTHEW - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services
item PAYNTER, QUENTIN - Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research
item MCGRATH, ZANE - Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research
item PROBST, CHANTEL - Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research
item KORNEYEV, VALERY - National Academy Of Sciences Of Ukraine
item WIEGMANN, BRIAN - North Carolina State University
item CASSEL, BRIAN - North Carolina State University
item RODRIGUEZ, E. - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services
item STECK, G. - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services
item SUTTON, B. - Florida Department Of Agriculture And Consumer Services
item BRANHAM, MARC - University Of Florida
item RUIZ-ARCE, RAUL - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/12/2024
Publication Date: 8/23/2024
Citation: Norrbom, A.L., Moore, M., Paynter, Q., Mcgrath, Z., Probst, C., Korneyev, V., Wiegmann, B., Cassel, B., Rodriguez, E.J., Steck, G.J., Sutton, B.D., Branham, M., Ruiz-Arce, R. 2024. Color morphs in Anastrepha nigrotaenia (Enderlein), new combination (Diptera: Tephritidae), and resultant synonymy. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 126 (1):21-55. https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.126.1.21.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.126.1.21

Interpretive Summary: True fruit flies include numerous pest species worldwide, most of which do not occur in the USA but threaten American agriculture if introduced. The largest group of these flies in South America includes more than 300 species. Body color patterns have been thought to be useful to distinguish these species. However, the results of this research, based on rearings from host plants, adult mating, and molecular and morphological analyses indicate that at least in one wasp-mimicing species, closely related to the papaya fruit fly, there are multiple color morphs. These findings have important implications for the taxonomy and identification of species of this group. The results will be used by APHIS-PPQ and other regulatory agencies as well as scientists studying various aspects of the biology and control of these flies.

Technical Abstract: Flies of the genus Anastrepha with different color patterns that were previously recognized as four species are here reported to be color morphs of a single species, Anastrepha nigrotaenia (Enderlein), new combination, on the basis of morphological and molecular study. The names Toxotrypana australis Blanchard, Toxotrypana nigra Blanchard, Toxotrypana picciola Blanchard, Toxotrypana proseni Blanchard, and Toxotrypana pseudopicciola Blanchard are here considered new synonyms of A. nigrotaenia. Specimens reared from the same samples of fruit of Araujia sericifera Brot. (Apocynaceae) in Uruguay that comprised three species based on the previous morphological concepts were nearly all identical in COI sequences and all clustered in a single clade with other specimens of these taxa in an anchored hybrid enrichment analysis. A redescription and diagnosis are provided for A. nigrotaenia, and its host plant and distribution data are compiled and summarized.