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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #425224
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: New neotropical species of Epochrinopsis Hering and Tomoplagia Coquillett (Diptera Tephritidae), with a case of remarkable wing pattern convergence

Author
item Norrbom, Allen
item SAVARIS, MARCOANDRE - Luiz De Queiroz College Of Agriculture (ESALQ)

Submitted to: Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/8/2025
Publication Date: 11/28/2025
Citation: Norrbom, A.L., Savaris, M. 2025. New neotropical species of Epochrinopsis Hering and Tomoplagia Coquillett (Diptera Tephritidae), with a case of remarkable wing pattern convergence. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington. 127(3):501-544. https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.127.3.501.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.127.3.501

Interpretive Summary: Fruit flies feed on plants, and many species are agricultural pests that damage fruit, seeds, or other parts of commercial crops. Most of the pests are exotic but are threats to US agriculture if introduced. To prevent this, it is important to know how to recognize and identify all species that could arrive at our ports or be detected in surveillance traps to know if expensive eradication programs are needed. In this manuscript 11 previously unknown species of fruit flies from Central and South America are formally named and described in detail. The diagnostic tools provided will permit the correct identification of these flies, and the information about their geographical distribution and host plants will be used by biologists, ecologists, and regulatory agencies responsible for managing natural areas and preventing the spread of pest species.

Technical Abstract: Seven previously unknown species of Epochrinopsis Hering and four previously unknown species of Tomoplagia Coquillett are formally named and described: Epochrinopsis aurantia, new species, from Ecuador; E. mixta, new species, from Bolivia; E. multipunctata, new species, from Ecuador; E. quinquefasciata, new species, from Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, and Brazil (Minas Gerais); E. reducta, new species, from Venezuela and Peru; E. trifasciata from Bolivia; E. uniformis from Bolivia; Tomoplagia atra, new species, from the Dominican Republic, Tomoplagia mathisi, new species, from from Peru (Madre de Dios), Tomoplagia multifracta, new species, from Brazil (Minas Gerais), and Tomoplagia quadristriata, new species, from the Dominican Republic. Epochrinopsis bicolorata Hering is newly recorded from Ecuador and Peru. Dendrophorbium biacuminatum (Rusby) C. Jeffrey is reported as a host plant of Epochrinopsis quinquefasciata, the first known host for this genus, and Senecio clivicola Wedd. and S. richii A. Gray as possible host plants of E. bicolorata and Gynoxys meridana Cuatr. as a possible host of of E. reducta based on adult records. All of these plants are in the tribe Senecioneae of the Asteraceae. A remarkable convergence in wing pattern is noted for E. quinquefasciata and species of Tomoplagia.