Melanoloma viatrix Hendel (Diptera, Richardiidae): New Pest of Pineapple Plantations in the North of Brazil.

This is the first record of Melanoloma viatrix Hendel as well as in its host (pineapple) in Brazil. Previously, M. viatrix had been found in pineapple plantations in Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador. In Brazil, this fly was initially reported in pineapple purchased from a commercial establishment in the municipality of Porto Grande, Amapá State, in 2020. Subsequently, M. viatrix was found in a commercial pineapple plantation, Ananas comosus (L.) Merr. cv. Pérola, also in Porto Grande, Amapá State. In the pineapple samples, 2,320 specimens of M. viatrix were collected on a single day on that rural property (approximately 2 ha). The larvae open galleries in the pulp that cause the pineapple to rot, making it unviable for consumption and commercial sale. This communication aims to alert phytosanitary authorities of the need to establish control strategies to prevent the spread of the pineapple fly to other states in Brazil.

Spondias mombin as a reservoir of fruit fly parasitoid populations in the Eastern Amazon: an undervalued ecosystem service.

Fruit flies are economically important pests that infest a wide variety of host trees. The environmental damage caused by traditional pesticide-based control methods has prompted scientists to seek less damaging alternatives such as biological control by native species. Parasitoids, especially Braconidae species, have excellent potential as biological control agents for fruit flies, being both generalists and well distributed geographically. Native fruit trees that support medium or high levels of these parasitoids could therefore play an important role in biological control strategies. A good potential example is Spondias mombin L. in the Brazilian Amazon, which hosts several species of fruit flies and associated parasitoids. Here, we provide a unique synthesis of over nearly two decades of data from the east Amazon, clearly demonstrating the potential of S. mombin to act as a source and reservoir of fruit fly parasitoids. This important ecosystem service (biological control) provided by the parasitoids and supported by S. mombin could be further enhanced through conservation of this plant species in its natural environment.