FRUIT FLIES (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE) AND THEIR PARASITOIDS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT HOG PLUM GENOTYPES IN TERESINA, PIAUÍ

Abstract

ABSTRACT The aim of this work was to identify and quantify the infestation of fruit fly species and their parasitoids, associated with 20 hog plum genotypes (Spondias mombin L.) in a commercial orchard in Teresina, Piauí, Brazil. The survey was conducted by fruit sampling and monitoring through traps stocked with bait food, in the period from January to December 2012. Overall, 6560 fruits were collected (79.58 kg), resulting in 23059 pupae, of which 10080 fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha and 4984 braconid parasitoids emerged. Anastrepha obliqua species was the predominant with 99.92%. F16P13 and F11P10 genotypes had the highest infestation indexes and F15P11 and F04P01 genotypes, the lowest. The main parasitoids collected were Opius bellus (77.65%), Doryctobracon areolatus (19.88%) and Utetes anastrephae (2.47%). The average parasitism rate among genotypes was of 30.46%. In traps, a total of 1434 fruit flies were collected, whose species were: A. obliqua (97.6%), A. serpentina (1.4%), A. fraterculus (0.4%), A. striata (0.4%), A. dissimilis (0.1%), A. pseudoparallela (0.1%). Anastrepha obliqua species was predominant in the area, based on faunistic analysis. The infestation index in the orchard was relevant for five months (January-May), coinciding with the period of availability of hog plum fruits, reaching the highest peak in March (2.86 FAT). There was a significant negative correlation between number of fruit flies in the orchard and the average air temperature, and a significant positive correlation with rainfall and relative humidity. However, the main factor that influenced the observed infestation index in the hog plum orchard was fruit availability.