Carambola fruit fly in Brazil: new host and first record of associated parasitoids

Abstract Bactrocera carambolae Drew & Hancock (Diptera: Tephritidae), the Carambola fruit fly, is an invasive species in South America. This work aims to confirm the expansion of the host range of B. carambolae and report the occurrence of its parasitism in Brazil. The study was carried out in the Jari Valley region, Pará, Brazil. Two types of sampling of Terminalia catappa L. (Combretaceae) were carried out: one with grouped fruits to verify if they were infested by B. carambolae (Sites A, B, C) and the other with individualized fruits to investigate parasitism (Site C). Morphological analysis was done to confirm parasitism, based mainly on the cephalopharyngeal skeleton embedded in the opercula of the puparia. From the sampling with grouped T. catappa fruit, 2,841 fruit fly puparia were obtained, from which 480  B. carambolae specimens and 1,228 specimens of Anastrepha spp. Schiner (Diptera: Tephritidae) emerged. Site C was the one with the highest fruit fly infestation of T. catappa fruits. We conclude that T. catappa is a moderately good host at Site A and a good host at Sites B and C. From the samplings with individualized fruits of T. catappa , an adjusted parasitism index of 21.2 % was obtained for Anastrepha spp. and 1.8 % for B. carambolae , confirming the presence of the parasitoids Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti), Utetes anastrephae (Viereck) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), and Aganaspis pelleranoi (Brèthes) (Hymenoptera: Figitidae). The native parasitoids D. areolatus , U. anastrephae , and A. pelleranoi were reported for the first time parasitizing B. carambolae larvae in Brazil.