Biodiversidade de moscas-das-frutas (Diptera: Tephritidae), hospedeiros e seus parasitoides (Hymenoptera) em uma unidade de conservação e área urbana no Paraguai

Abstract

Tephritidae is one of the main groups of phytophagous flies, especially frugivorous ones, with more than 5,000 species described and distributed worldwide in more than 500 genera. Fruit flies have been widely researched in the world due to their great economic importance, especially in countries with a tropical climate and intense agricultural activity, with a focus mainly on orchards and vegetable gardens. However, researches related to the occurrence of these species in native areas, especially in conservation areas, are scarce. The Cerro Corá National Park (PNCC), a conservation unit in Paraguay, encompasses many animal communities, including insects, which live in their various biomes. This research was divided into 3 chapters: chapter 1 presents a review of South American countries with fruit fly records and their natural enemies, with the aim of making a general review of the knowledge of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and their parasitoids in South America, having as the main criterion the countries in which there were more records of Tephritidae, their hosts and natural enemies. In chapter 2, it was carried out a faunal inventory of trophic associations between fruit flies, host plants and their parasitoids in the PNCC, based on sampling of native fruits present in the Park, with the aim of: 1) Sampling the Biodiversity of fruit flies and their hosts in Cerro Corá National Park (PNCC), 30 km far from the city of Pedro Juan Caballero, Paraguay (PY). 2) Research the tritrophic interactions between fruit flies, their host plants and natural enemies in a Conservation Unit in the PNCC. 3) Evaluate the levels of Infestation of host fruits in the PNCC, 4) Evaluate the levels of Parasitoidism of the of fruit fly larvae in the PNCC. 17 fruit species were sampled, with 32,583g of biomass and 10,931 fruits. Among the 17 fruit species sampled, four of them were hosts for Anastrepha spp. and C. capitata: E. myrcianthes, C. sessiliflora, C. guazumifolia and M. floribunda, all belonging to the Myrtaceae family, being colonized by five species of fruit flies: A. sororcula, A. fraterculus, A. zenildae, A. turpinae and C. capitata. The highest abundance in fruit fly species obtained was for A. sororcula in C. sessiliflora and A. sororcula in M. floribunda. In addition to fruit flies, parasitoids of C. sessiliflora belonging to two species were recovered: Doryctobracon areolatus and Opius sp. In chapter 3, a faunal inventory is carried out on the trophic associations of fruit flies, their host plants and their parasitoids in an urban area in the city of Pedro Juan Caballero, with the following objectives: 1) To carry out a species inventory of fruit flies and their hosts at the Universidad Nacional de Assunción (UNA), department of Amambay, Pedro Juan Caballero - Paraguay and surroundings, 2) Carry out an inventory of natural enemies of fruit flies in host fruits at the Universidad Nacional de Assunción (UNA), department of Amambay, Pedro Juan Caballero - Paraguay and surroundings, 3) Evaluate the trophic interactions between fruit flies, their fruit hosts and natural enemies at the Universidad Nacional de Assunción (UNA), department of Amambay, Pedro Juan Caballero - Paraguay and surroundings. The collections were carried out fortnightly between March 2021 and February 2023, when fruit species were collected in an urban fragment of Pedro Juan Cabllero. Seven species of fruit trees were collected, with 24,875g of biomass and 2,722 fruits. All the collected species were host to fruit flies, namely: Spondias purpurea, Inga laurina, Malphigia puncifolia, Eribotria japonica and Psidium guajava, Mangifera indica, Plinia caulflora and Cucurbita sp. The highest abundance was of C. capitata in P. guajava and A. obliqua in S. purpurea. From these hosts, six species of Anastrepha spp were recovered and also C. capitata.