Tephritoid flies (Diptera, Tephritoidea) and their plant hosts from the state of Santa Catarina in Southern Brazil

Abstract

A total of 12,540 ripe fruits belonging to 46 species in 25 plant families were sampled from either the trees or the ground in 6 municipalities in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil between 2002 and 2006 to determine which fruit fly species developed on various host plants. Each fruit was weighed and placed into a plastic flask filled with sterilized sand 7 cm deep, and the opening of the flask was covered with sheer fabric. The flasks were kept under controlled conditions (25 ± 3°C, 70 ± 10% RH and 12h photophase). After 7 d, the pupae were sifted from the sand and transferred to Petri dishes lined with filter paper. Twenty-one species of Tephritoidea were recovered consisting of 13 species of Tephritidae, 6 of Lonchaeidae, and 2 of Ulidiidae. We present new host records for some species of fruit flies.