Natural occurrence of parasitoids of Anastrepha spp. Schiner, 1868 (Diptera: Tephritidae) in different host plants, in Itaguai (RJ), Brazil

The relationship among Anastrepha spp. flies, their parasitoids, and host plants in Itaguai (RJ), Brazil, is described. Samples of mature fruit were taken from 12 different host plant species. Four species of braconid parasitoids and four species of tephritids subsequently emerged from the collections. Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) was parasitized by all of the braconids, i.e., Doryctobracon areolatus (Szepligeti), D. brasiliensis (Szepligeti), Utetes (Bracanastrepha) anastrephae (Viereck), and Opius bellus Gahan. A. obliqua (Macquart) and A. distincta Greene were attacked by all the parasitoids, except D. brasiliensis. A. sororcula Zucchi was parasitized by D. areolatus and U. anastrephae. A. obliqua was the most common fly species. D. areolatus accounted for 89.23% of the total parasitization. The overall rate of parasitism of Anastrepha spp. was 10.4%. However, parasitism varied considerably among host plants. Flies from Eugenia uniflora, E. brasiliensis, Spondias purpurea, and Psidium guajava were the most heavily parasitized at 59.64, 23.27, 17.47, and 16.02%, respectively. Some tropical fruit host plants for the Anastrepha flies markedly facilitate parasitoid multiplication and deserve attention both as reservoirs of natural enemies and as targets for biological control within integrated fruit fly control programs