Studies on the population dynamics of the fruit flies,Anastrepha(Diptera: Tephritidae) associated with mango(Mangifera indicaL.) in Costa Rica

Abstract

A number of observations on the population dynamics of Anastrepha obliqua associated with a mango plantation in Orotina, Costa Rica were carried out. (a) After eleven months sampling with McPhail traps, 54.63% of adults captured were A. serpentina 41.73% A. obliqua 3.56% A. striata and 0.08% A. balloui. The period of maximum abundance of these species coincides with the fruiting season of the respective host plants, A. serpentina coincided with the fruiting of several Sapotaceae, A. obliqua with some Anacardiaceae and A. striata with some Myrtaceae. However all adults from infested mangoes were A. obliqua. (b) The phenology of adult emergence of A. obliqua from the ground was observed in 1986. Most emerge just after the first rains; this coincides with the fruiting season, and emergence continues many weeks after the crop is over. (c) To determine the dispersal of A. obliqua 633 young adults were marked and released in the mango plot. Only one marked adult was recaptured five weeks later. Adults showed a tendency to disperse from the original plot.