Tephritoid Flies (Diptera, Tephritoidea) and Their Plant Hosts from the State of Santa Catarina in Southern Brazil (Report‪)‬

Approximately 70 species of Tephritidae are considered important pests of fruit production worldwide. The majority of the species of economic importance belong to 5 genera: Anastrepha, Bactrocera, Ceratitis, Dacus, and Rhagoletis (Garcia 2009). The genus Neosilba of the family Lonchaeidae (McAlpine & Steyskal 1982) includes 16 described species (Strikis & Prado 2005), some of which cause severe damage to certain species of fruit crops in the American tropics. Field surveys of fruit flies (Tephritoidea) and their host plants and parasitoids are essential for understanding the bioecology of the economically important genera and species in this superfamily (Bateman 1972). The creation of the common market, Mercosul, involving Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, has elevated the importance of such studies because knowledge of these pest species, their hosts and natural enemies is key to containing their destructive effects as trade in fruits between these countries expands. In Brazil, most of the pest tephritids belong to the genus Anastrepha, but host plants are known for only 44% of the species (Zucchi 2007).