Moscas-das-frutas (Diptera: Tephritidae) em plantas hospedeiras de três municípios do estado do Ceará

Abstract

The acerola (Malpighia emarginata D.C.), guava (Psidium guajava L.) and caja (Spondias mombin L.) fruit have socioeconomic importance for the state of Ceará. Fruit flies are frugivorous insects of worldwide importance due to the damage caused to the fruits. Anastrepha spp. (Schiner) (Diptera: Tephritidae) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) are considered pests of great importance for Brazilian fruticulture. This study aimed: 1) to evaluate the occurrence and spatial distribution of fruit flies in fruits of acerola, caja and guava; 2) to identify, between Okinawa and Junco, which variety of acerola is most susceptible to fruit flies; 3) to verify the potential of colonization of fruit flies in acerola fruits of different biomasses; and 4) to study interactions with native parasitoids. The study was conducted between the years 2017 and 2018 in three municipalities in the state of Ceará (Pacajus, Paraipaba and Acaraú), in the fruit trees caja, acerola and guava. The fruits were collected manually directly from the canopy of the plants, in addition to those that had fallen naturally after ripening (without the presence of signs of larvae leaving). The fruits were separated into lots for analysis of the interaction involving fruit flies, hosts and parasitoids. It was observed, in acerola, a higher probability of occurrence of C. capitata in fruits collected in the soil in relation to fruits collected in the canopy of the plant, with the Okinawa variety presenting a higher probability of occurrence of the insect. Ceratitis capitata, in acerola, has a greater colonization in fruits with less biomass. There is a greater probability of Anastrepha spp. and C. capitata in the canopy of guava plants, than in ripe fruits in the soil. The same is observed for A. obliqua in cashew fruits. The parasitoid Tetrastichus giffardianus (Silvestri) (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) was observed parasitizing C. capitata in acerola, in the municipality of Paraipaba. Specimens of the parasitoid Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), were obtained from C. capitata, A. zenildae and A. sororcula in guava, in the municipality of Acaraú. Two species of parasitoids D. areolatus and Asobara anastrephae (Muesebeck) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) were found parasitizing A. obliqua on caja fruits, in the municipality of Pacajus, this being the first record of A. anastrephae parasitizing A. obliqua in the state.