The abundance and diversity of fruit flies and their parasitoids change with elevation in guava orchards in a tropical Andean forest of Peru, independent of seasonality.

Lower elevations are generally thought to contain a greater abundance and diversity of insect communities and their natural enemies than higher elevations. It is less clear, however, how changes in seasons influence this pattern. We conducted a 2-year study (2013‒2014) in guava orchards located in a tropical Andean forest of Peru to investigate differences in fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and their parasitoid communities at two elevations and over two seasons. Fruit fly traps were installed, monitored, and guava fruits were sampled from eight orchards at low (800-950 m above sea level) and high (1,700-1,900 m above sea level) elevations and during the dry and rainy seasons. At each orchard, adult fruit fly trap captures and emergence of fruit flies and their parasitoids from guava fruit were quantified to determine their abundance and species composition. There was a greater abundance and species richness of fruit flies captured in traps at lower elevations, as well as higher abundance and species evenness of fruit flies that emerged from fruit, indicating that lower elevations are associated with larger fruit fly populations. The abundance, species richness and diversity of parasitoids were also greater at lower elevations. Consequently, guava fruit infestation and fruit fly parasitism rates were also greater at lower elevations. Seasonality also influenced fruit fly populations with a greater number of flies emerging from guava fruit and more fruit infested in the rainy season. However, seasonality had no effect on parasitoid population parameters or rate of parasitism, nor did it interact with elevation as an influence of populations of fruit flies or their parasitoids in guava orchards. This study highlights the importance of examining both elevation and seasonality for a better understanding of the population dynamics of fruit flies and their parasitoids in tropical agroecosystems.

Lance flies associated with sweet passion fruit and contributions to the knowledge on Lonchaeidae in Peru / Moscas-lança associadas ao maracujá-doce e contribuições para o conhecimento de Lonchaeidae no Peru

The Lonchaeidae family comprises species that are considered of major economic importance due of their damage in several crops. In sweet passion fruit (Passiflora ligularis Juss), these flies cause high infestation in flower buds and fruits, however only a few basic studies about the species associated with the damage are available. Samples of flower buds and fruits were taken and McPhail trap baits with Torula yeast were placed in sweet passion fruit orchards in Oxapampa (Pasco, Peru) in 2015­2016. In addition, other hosts were collected in this period. We found Dasiops inedulis Steykal infesting the flower buds, while Dasiops frieseni Norrbom & McAlpine infesting sweet passion fruits. Moreover, other Lonchaeidae-hosts interactions are related. Through Torula yeast baits, 14 species of lance flies were detected and high numbers of D. inedulis specimens were captured.(AU)

A família Lonchaeidae inclui espécies que são consideradas de grande importância econômica devido aos seus danos em diferentes cultivos. No maracujá-doce (Passiflora ligularis Juss), essas moscas causam altas infestações em botões florais e frutos, tendo ainda poucos estudos sobre as espécies associadas aos danos. Amostragem de botões florais e frutos foram realizadas e armadilhas McPhail com levedura de Torula foram colocadas em fazendas de maracujá em Oxapampa (Pasco, Peru) durante os anos de 2015 e 2016. Além disso, outros hospedeiros foram coletados nesse período. Nós encontramos Dasiops inedulis Steykal infestando botões florais e Dasiops frieseni Norrbom & McAlpine em frutos de maracujá-doce. Além disso, outras interações Lonchaeidae-hospedeiro são relacionadas. Mediante iscas de levedura de Torula, 14 espécies de Lonchaeidae foram detectadas e altos números de espécimes de D. inedulis foram capturados.(AU)