Native Hymenopteran Parasitoids Associated with Anastrepha spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Seropedica City, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

Parasitoids associated with five species of Anastrepha were recovered from host fruits that belong to 12 species of plants growing in Seropedica city, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We recovered six native hymenopteran parasitoid species: Doryctobracon areolatus (Szepligeti), Utetes (Bracanastrephae) anastrephae (Viereck), Opius bellus Gahan (Braconidae, Opiinae), Aganaspis pelleranoi (Brethes) (Figitidae, Eucoilinae), Trichopria anastrephae Lima (Diapriidae, Diapriinae) and an unidentified species of Pteromalidae. The most abundant parasitoid species was D. areolatus, representing 61.8% of all parasitoids. The parasitoid species recovered were well established in a wide diversity of fruit and Anastrepha fly species, including economically important pests such as A. fraterculus, A. obliqua and A. sororcula. The analysis of the relative abundance of the recovered parasitoids in different fruit species suggests, at least for the three encountered opiine parasitoids, that the host-parasitoid relationship was influenced by certain physical characteristics such as size and weight of the host fruit. Our results support the original proposal of M. Aluja and J. Sivinski (pers. comm.) that some native host plant species for the Anastrepha flies facilitate parasitoid multiplication. They deserve attention as natural enemy reservoirs and may be important to biological control strategies within fruit fly integrated management programs.