ARS | Publication request: A revision of the Anastrepha robusta species group (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Submitted to: Zootaxa
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: June 3, 2009
Publication Date: August 6, 2009
Citation: Norrbom, A.L., Korytkowski, C.A. 2009. A revision of the Anastrepha robusta species group (Diptera: Tephritidae). Zootaxa. 2182:1-91.

Interpretive Summary: True fruit flies include 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 200 species. In this paper, 29 species within this group are described, including 13 species that are new to science and described for the first time. A new host plant record for this group in the milkwort plant family is reported, and host information for other species is listed. Identification tools (a key, descriptions, and illustrations) are provided for all 29 species. The ability to recognize fruit flies is essential to regulatory agencies such as APHIS-PPQ to prevent the spread of pest species. The information provided also will be valuable to scientists studying the biology and control of these species.

Technical Abstract: The Anastrepha robusta species group is revised to include the following 29 species: A. amaryllis Tigrero (Ecuador), A. amazonensis, n. sp. (Brazil: Amazonas), A. bella, n. sp. (Panamá), A. binodosa Stone (Colombia, Brazil: Amazonas, Pará), A. concava Greene (Costa Rica to Ecuador and Brazil: Amazonia), A. cordata Aldrich (México to Venezuela), A. cryptostrepha Hendel (Peru, Surinam), A. cryptostrephoides, n. sp. (Peru), A. disticrux, n. sp. (Jamaica), A. fenestrata Lutz & Lima (Brazil: Amazonas, Pará), A. fenestrella, n. sp. (Costa Rica, Panamá), A. furcata Lima (Panamá, French Guiana, Brazil: Amazonas, Pará, Bahia, Espírito Santo), A. fuscata, n. sp. (Peru), A. isolata, n. sp. (Ecuador, Brazil: Amazonas), A. jamaicensis, n. sp. (Jamaica), A. lambda Hendel (Peru), A. miza, n. sp. (Venezuela), A. nigra, n. sp. (Panamá), A. nigrifascia Stone (Bahamas, USA: Florida), A. nigrivittata, n. sp. (Guyana), A. partita, n. sp. (“Amazon”), A. phaeoptera Lima (Brazil: Bahia, Rio Grande do Sul), A. pittieri Caraballo (Panamá, Venezuela), A. pseudorobusta, n. sp. (Peru, Trinidad, Venezuela), A. rafaeli, n. sp. (Brazil: Roraima, Venezuela), A. robusta Greene (México to Panamá), A. rojasi, n. sp. (Costa Rica, Panamá), A. simulans Zucchi (Brazil: Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro), and A. speciosa Stone (Panamá). Moutabea longifolia is recorded as a host plant of A. rojasi, the first host record for Anastrepha species from the plant family Polygalaceae. The larvae feed on the seeds within the fruit. A key to the species and descriptions and illustrations for each species are provided, and their possible relationships are discussed.