Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in commercial mango orchards in a semiarid region of Brazil

Abstract

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are important mango (Mangifera indica L.) pests in several parts of the world. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to know the species of fruit flies associated with commercial mango orchards in a semiarid region of Rio Grande do Norte state, Brazil; report the species of quarantine importance; discuss the influence of the semiarid environment on the distribution of the species and verify their faunistic indices. The study was carried out between July 2011 and June 2014 in ten commercial orchards of mango cultivar Tommy Atkins in the semiarid region of the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Northeastern Brazil. Fruit flies were captured in McPhail traps baited with 5% hydrolyzed corn protein (Bio Anastrepha®). Mangoes fruits were also collected. Faunistic analysis was performed to characterize the populations. Eight fruit fly species (Anastrepha spp. and C. capitata) were captured. The species C. capitata had the highest geographic distribution and was the only one to infest mangoes. The faunistic analysis showed that most of the orchards had low species richness and that C. capitata was the most frequent and predominant species.