''Anastrepha fraterculus'', known as the South American fruit fly, is a fruit fly species from the genus

Anastrepha ''Anastrepha'' is the most diverse genus in the American tropics and subtropics. Currently, it comprises more than 300 described species, including nine major pest species, such as the Mexican fruit fly (''A. ludens''), the South American fruit f ...

. ''A. fraterculus'' is a

polyphagous Feeding is the process by which organisms, typically animals, obtain food. Terminology often uses either the suffixes -vore, -vory, or -vorous from Latin ''vorare'', meaning "to devour", or -phage, -phagy, or -phagous from Greek φαγε ...

frugivorous A frugivore is an animal that thrives mostly on raw fruits or succulent fruit-like produce of plants such as roots, shoots, nuts and seeds. Approximately 20% of mammalian herbivores eat fruit. Frugivores are highly dependent on the abundance and ...

fly that is a significant pest of commercial fruit production in

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

Taxonomy

German entomologist

Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann Christian Rudolph Wilhelm Wiedemann (7 December 1770 in Brunswick – 31 December 1840 in Kiel) was a German physician, historian, naturalist and entomologist. He is best known for his studies of world Diptera, but he also studied Hymenoptera a ...

first described the South American fruit fly in 1830. The ''Anastrepha fraterculus'' species is not to be confused with the ''Anastrepha fraterculus'' complex, which is a

cryptic species In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

with eight taxonomically recognized morphotypes.

Distribution

The ''Anastrepha fraterculus'' species is native to

and is distributed throughout the southern

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(South

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

and southern

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

Caribbean Islands Almost all of the Caribbean islands are in the Caribbean Sea, with only a few in inland lakes. The largest island is Cuba. Other sizable islands include Hispaniola, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Trinidad and Tobago. Some of the smaller islands are re ...

, and

.Steck, G. J., Carroll, L. E., Celedonio-Hurtado, H., and Guillen-Aguilar, J. 1990. Methods for identification of ''Anastrepha'' larvae (Diptera: Tephritidae), and key to 13 species. ''Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington'' 92: 333-346.Stone, A. 1942. The fruit flies of the genus ''Anastrepha''. ''United States Department of Agriculture, Miscellaneous Publication.'' 439: 1-112.

Description

''Anastrepha fraterculus'' is a small fruit fly. Its body colouration varies, from orange, to brown and yellow. They have six jointed legs attached to their thorax and one set of membranous wings with yellow and brown bands also attached at their thorax. Attached to their head is a pair of antennae. The antennae have three segments: the scape, the pedicel, and the flagellum. An

arista Arista may refer to: Organizations *Arista Networks, a software defined networking company *Arista Records, an American record label, division of Sony Music **Arista Nashville, a record label specializing in country music *Arista (honor society) ...

is also located at the dorsal side and proximal end of the flagellum. They have six types of

sensilla A sensillum (plural ''sensilla'') is an arthropod sensory organ protruding from the cuticle of exoskeleton, or sometimes lying within or beneath it. Sensilla appear as small hairs or pegs over an individual's body. Inside each sensillum there are ...

based on shape, located along their antennae. These sensilla are used for chemoreception. The female ''A. fraterculus'' have a modified

ovipositor The ovipositor is a tube-like organ used by some animals, especially insects, for the laying of eggs. In insects, an ovipositor consists of a maximum of three pairs of appendages. The details and morphology of the ovipositor vary, but typical ...

called an aculeus. The aculeus is near the cloacal opening, and it is conical in shape with serrations near the apex.

Digestive system

The

digestive system The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller compone ...

in the South American fruit fly is one long, continuous tube that connects the mouth to the anus. This tract is divided into three specialized regions: the foregut, the midgut, and the hindgut. The foregut is specialized to ingest and soften the food and begin digestion. The foregut contains a short gullet with an esophageal pouch, then a long, narrow crop duct that ends in a wide crop. The midgut is specialized for digestion and absorption of nutrients. The midgut contains a long, coiled stomach. The hindgut is specialized for absorbing nutrients and reabsorbing water and ions. The hindgut includes the ileum, the rectum, and associated rectal glands.

Life cycle

''Anastrepha fraterculus'' have a four-stage life cycle: egg,

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The ...

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

, and adult. The females lay their eggs in fruit, where the larvae develop until they reach adulthood and leave the fruit to mate. Their eggs are white, elongated, and curved.Murillo, T., and Jirón, L. F. 1994. Egg morphology of ''Anastrepha obliqua'' and some comparative aspects with eggs of ''Anastrepha fraterculus'' (Diptera: Tephritidae). ''Florida Entomologist'' 77: 342-348. The

chorion The chorion is the outermost fetal membrane around the embryo in mammals, birds and reptiles (amniotes). It develops from an outer fold on the surface of the yolk sac, which lies outside the zona pellucida (in mammals), known as the vitelline ...

has extensions that are shorter near the anterior end of the egg and bluntly rounded at the posterior end of the egg. The larvae ingest the forced-out yolk masses near the anterior end of the egg and then emerge near the posterior end of the egg. The larvae

molt In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body (often, but not always, an outer ...

three times before reaching maturity: the first

instar An instar (, from the Latin '' īnstar'', "form", "likeness") is a developmental stage of arthropods, such as insects, between each moult (''ecdysis''), until sexual maturity is reached. Arthropods must shed the exoskeleton in order to grow or ass ...

occurs from 1-3 days old, the second instar from 4-6 days old, and the third instar from 7-12 days old. The larvae's third instar has some defining characteristics to help distinguish it from other species in the ''Anastrepha'' genus: the third instar is greater than 6.0 mm in length and 1.0 mm in diameter, their mandibles don't have a subapical tooth, they have 7-11 oral ridges, the abdominal segments lack dorsal

spinules Spinules are small spines or thorns (vertebral columns) that are part of biological and manmade structures. The word originates from the Latin word and is often used in botany and zoology. The presence or absence of spinules, and their shape, can ...

, and the anterior

spiracle Spiracle or spiraculum may refer to: * Spiracle (arthropods), opening in the exoskeletons of some arthropods * Spiracle (vertebrates), openings on the surface of some vertebrates * Spiraculum, a genus of land snails in family Cyclophoridae Cycl ...

has 9-14 tubules. After the final molt, the larva enters the pupa stage. The pupa is an inert, sessile stage. The pupa is cylindrical and 4.5-60 mm in length and 2-2.5 mm in diameter. The pupae's colouration is yellow-tinged with brown and then turns reddish-yellow or dark brown.Jahnke, S. M., Gebbers, R., Zanotta, D. C., and Intreβ, J. 2021. Differences in optical properties of males and females pupae of ''Anastrepha fratercululs'' (Diptera: Tephritidae). ''Revista Colombiana de Entomologia'' 47. After pupating, the adult fly splits open the pupal case and exits, then leaves the fruit to continue the cycle.

Mating

The South American fruit flies mate through a

lek mating A lek is an aggregation of male animals gathered to engage in competitive displays and courtship rituals, known as lekking, to entice visiting females which are surveying prospective partners with which to mate. A lek can also indicate an avail ...

system. The males aggregate into groups of 5, about 80 cm apart, usually on the underside of the leaves of host plants. They start their courtship and mating behaviour 1 hour after dawn until mid-morning. In these aggregations, the males release volatile

pheromones A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavio ...

to attract females. These pheromones are primarily released from glands in the rectum, though some pheromones are released from their salivary glands. The distal rectum is evaginated to increase the evaporative surface and increase pheromone emission. The females use an

to puncture the fruit's skin and lay their eggs inside. After laying their eggs, the female ''Anastrepha fraterculus'' drags their ovipositor along the fruit and releases an oviposition-deterring pheromone to prevent other females from laying their eggs in that fruit to improve the success of her offspring.

Impacts

''Anastrepha fraterculus'' is a major agricultural pest. They cause a lot of damage to the plants' fruits. The females puncture the fruit during oviposition, the larvae eat the fruit during maturation, and at adulthood, they damage the fruit by exiting. The punctures also facilitate the entry of phytopathogens into the fruit. ''A. fraterculus'' is also a mechanical vector for fungi spores that can cause the fruits to rot.Machota Jr., R., Bortoli, L. C., Botton, M., and Grutzmacher, A. D. 2013. Fungi that cause rot in bunches of grape identified in adult fruit flies (''Anastrepha fraterculus'') (Diptera: Tephritidae). ''Chilean Journal of Agricultural Research'' 73: 196-201.

Host plants

''Anastrepha fraterculus'' infect many host plants with their larvae. ''A. fraterculus'' infest at least 159 species of host plants, including many plants from the family

Annonaceae The Annonaceae are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs, or rarely lianas commonly known as the custard apple family or soursop family. With 108 accepted genera and about 2400 known species, it is the largest ...

Myrtaceae Myrtaceae, the myrtle family, is a family of dicotyledonous plants placed within the order Myrtales. Myrtle, pōhutukawa, bay rum tree, clove, guava, acca (feijoa), allspice, and eucalyptus are some notable members of this group. All speci ...

Rutaceae The Rutaceae is a family, commonly known as the rueRUTACEAE
in BoDD – Botanical Derm ...

Malpighiaceae Malpighiaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Malpighiales. It comprises about 73 genera and 1315 species, all of which are native to the tropics and subtropics. About 80% of the genera and 90% of the species occur in the New World ( ...

Rosaceae Rosaceae (), the rose family, is a medium-sized family of flowering plants that includes 4,828 known species in 91 genera. The name is derived from the type genus ''Rosa''. Among the most species-rich genera are ''Alchemilla'' (270), ''Sorbus ...

(apples, cherries, peaches, plums),

Vitaceae The Vitaceae are a family of flowering plants, with 14 genera and around 910 known species, including common plants such as grapevines (''Vitis'' spp.) and Virginia creeper (''Parthenocissus quinquefolia''). The family name is derived from the ge ...

(grapes), and many, many more.

Control techniques

Many control methods are being studied to decrease the amount of economic damage caused by ''Anastrepha fraterculus''. These methods include using chemical products, such as biopesticides, which include plant extracts and oil, which are used in favour of harmful insecticides. Other alternative methods include

sterile insect technique The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a method of biological insect control, whereby overwhelming numbers of sterile insects are released into the wild. The released insects are preferably male, as this is more cost-effective and the females ma ...

(SIT), where they induced sterility in mass-reared ''A. fraterculus'', preferably males, through radiation, and then reintroduced them into the environment. Many improvements have been made to these mass-rearing protocols to identify males for SIT in viable, non-destructive manners. These methods include developing genetic sexing strains (GSS) and using hyperspectral images of the pupae to determine the sex. Another alternative method includes

biological control Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also invo ...

techniques, such as the introduction of parasitoid species, like ''Diachasmimorpha longicaudata'' and ''Coptera haywardi'', to infest and kill ''A. fraterculus''.Van Nieuwenhove, G., Bezdjian, L. P., Schliserman, P., Aluja, M., and Ovruski, S. M. 2016. Combined effect of larval and pupal parasitoid use for ''Anastrepha fraterculus'' (Diptera: Tephritidae) control. ''Biological Control'' 95: 94-102.

References

External links

''Anastrepha fraterculus'' images on BOLD Systems
{{Taxonbar, from=Q13487627 Tephritidae