ARS | Publication request: New species of Gymnocarena Hering (Diptera: Tephritidae) from Eastern North America and Guatemala, and the redescription of G. mississippiensis Norrbom

Submitted to: The Canadian Entomologist
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: July 4, 2011
Publication Date: April 18, 2012
Citation: Sutton, B.D., Steck, G.J., Norrbom, A.L. 2012. New species of Gymnocarena Hering (Diptera: Tephritidae) from Eastern North America and Guatemala, and the redescription of G. mississippiensis Norrbom. The Canadian Entomologist. 144:248-265.

Interpretive Summary: Fruit flies include some of the most important pests of fruits and vegetables, annually causing billions of dollars in losses worldwide. Other species are beneficial as biological control agents of weedy plants. To prevent the spread of the pest species and properly utilize the beneficial species, it is critical that accurate and rapid taxonomic tools (descriptions, illustrations, identification keys) are available for all species of fruit flies. This publication provides an identification key for a group of fruit flies from North and Central America that includes a pest of sunflowers. Descriptions of three new species are also included. This information will be useful to APHIS-PPQ and other regulatory agencies responsible for quarantines to prevent the spread of pest fruit flies and for detecting new pest introductions into the U.S.

Technical Abstract: We describe three new species of fruit flies (Tephritidae: Tephritinae), Gymnocarena defoei sp. n. and G. norrbomi sp. n., from eastern North America and G. monzoni sp. n. from Guatemala, and redescribe G. mississippiensis Norrbom. Gymnocarena monzoni is the first species to be recorded from Guatemala. This brings the total number of species in this genus to 19. New host records for Gymnocarena includes Verbesina helianthoides Michx. (Asteraceae) for G. mississippiensis and G. norrbomi, V. alternifolia (L.) Britt. ex Kearney (Asteraceae) for G. norrbomi, and Viguiera cordata (Hook. & Arn.) D’Arcy (Asteraceae) for G. monzoni. The latter represents the first record for Gymnocarena in Viguiera. Gymnocarena larvae were also recorded from V. virginica L. (Asteraceae) but not identified to species. A revised key to the known species of Gymnocarena and additional information on larval host plants and biology ares provided.