New species and host plants of Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae) primarily from Suriname and Par, Brazil.

Seventeen new species of Anastrepha, primarily from Suriname, French Guiana and Par, Brazil, are described and illustrated: A. aithogaster Norrbom from Brazil (Par), French Guiana, and Suriname; A. aliesae Norrbom from Suriname; A. brownsbergiensis Norrbom from Suriname; A. crassaculeus Norrbom Rodriguez Clavijo from Colombia (Magdalena, Norte de Santander) and Suriname; A. curvivenis Norrbom from Brazil (Amazonas), Ecuador (Zamora-Chinchipe), Peru (San Martn), and Suriname; A. fuscoalata Norrbom from Brazil (Par), French Guiana, and Suriname; A. gangadini Norrbom from Suriname; A. juxtalanceola Norrbom from Brazil (Par) and Suriname; A. microstrepha Norrbom from Brazil (Bahia) and Suriname; A. mitaraka Norrbom from French Guiana; A. neptis Norrbom from Brazil (Par), Ecuador (Orellana), Peru (Loreto) and Suriname; A. sobrina Norrbom from Brazil (Par), French Guiana, and Suriname; A. surinamensis Norrbom from Suriname; A. tenebrosa Norrbom from Brazil (Par) and Peru (Loreto); A. triangularis Norrbom from Suriname; A. wachiperi Norrbom from French Guiana and Peru (Cusco); and A. wittiensis Norrbom from Suriname. The following host plant records are reported: A. aithogaster from fruit of Parahancornia fasciculata (Poir.) Benoist (Apocynaceae); A. aliesae from fruit of Passiflora coccinea Aubl. and P. glandulosa Cav. (Passifloraceae); A. crassaculeus from fruit of an undetermined species of Pouteria (Sapotaceae); A. fuscoalata from fruit of Trymatococcus oligandrus (Benoist) Lanj. (Moraceae); A. sobrina from fruit of Eugenia lambertiana DC. (Myrtaceae); and A. wittiensis from fruit of Manilkara bidentata (A. DC.) A. Chev. (Sapotaceae).

First Record of Mansonia dyari From Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands.

The first report of Mansonia dyari on Saint Croix, United States Virgin Islands (USVI), is confirmed. Adult and larval specimens were collected in 2018 and 2019 through adult surveillance and larval collections. Specimens were identified by microscopic methods, and a representative specimen was confirmed by DNA sequencing (mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I). Morphological features are reviewed and compared with Mansonia flaveola, a species previously reported in the USVI. Notes are provided on the locations, collection methods, and mosquito associates found with Ma. dyari in the USVI.

Where do the Neotropical Empidini lineages (Diptera: Empididae: Empidinae) fit in a worldwide context?

The tribe Empidini (Diptera: Empididae: Empidinae) is a diverse group with fourteen genera, seven of which are exclusive to the Neotropical region: Bolrhamphomyia Rafael, Chilerhamphomyia Rafael, Hystrichonotus Collin, Lamprempis Wheeler and Melander, Macrostomus Wiedemann, Opeatocerata Melander and Porphyrochroa Melander. Although Empidini itself is likely paraphyletic, many presumably monophyletic genera and species groups are recognized. Here, we apply DNA sequences from multiple genes to infer the phylogeny of Empidini, focusing on placing the Neotropical lineages within the entire tribe and identifying monophyletic groups. We included 98 Empidini taxa along with 18 outgrous terminals, spanning the diversity within the group. The results from the analyses performed are largely similar, with major groupings of genera in common. Specifically, the analyses recovered a monophyletic Hilarini and a paraphyletic Empidini. Most species from Chile and Argentina (Andean region) are found to belong to an early branching lineage within Empidinae, and are not monophyletic with other Empidini. A large portion of the remaining Neotropical Empidini (not Andean) comprises a single clade that includes four endemic genera and a number of Neotropical Empis Linneaus species. Macrostomus and Porphyrochroa each recovered as monophyletic and sister to one another, although generic placement of a few taxa remains uncertain due to conflicting morphological features. Lamprempis+Opeatocerata are also found to be sister-taxa in most analyses. Several large genera were found to be polyphyletic or paraphyletic including Empis and Rhamphomyia Meigen. We evaluate our findings and discuss them in light of current Empidinae taxonomy.

Say goodbye to tribes in the new house fly classification: A new molecular phylogenetic analysis and an updated biogeographical narrative for the Muscidae (Diptera).

House flies are one of the best known groups of flies and comprise about 5000 species worldwide. Despite over a century of intensive taxonomic research on these flies, classification of the Muscidae is still poorly resolved. Here we brought together the most diverse molecular dataset ever examined for the Muscidae, with 142 species in 67 genera representing all tribes and all biogeographic regions. Four protein coding genes were analyzed: mitochondrial CO1 and nuclear AATS, CAD (region 4) and EF1-α. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian approaches were used to analyze five different partitioning schemes for the alignment. We also used Bayes factors to test monophyly of the traditionally accepted tribes and subfamilies. Most subfamilial taxa were not recovered in our analyses, and accordingly monophyly was rejected by Bayes factor tests. Our analysis consistently found three main clades of Muscidae and so we propose a new classification with only three subfamilies without tribes. Additionally, we provide the first timeframe for the diversification of all major lineages of house flies and examine contemporary biogeographic hypotheses in light of this timeframe. We conclude that the muscid radiation began in the Paleocene to Eocene and is congruent with the final stages of the breakup of Gondwana, which resulted in the complete separation of Antarctica, Australia, and South America. With this newly proposed classification and better understanding of the timing of evolutionary events, we provide new perspectives for integrating morphological and ecological evolutionary understanding of house flies, their taxonomy, phylogeny, and biogeography.