Infestation Patterns of Commonly Cultivated., Edible Fruit Species by Ceratitis capitata and Anastrepha spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Guatemala and Their Relationship to Environmental Factors

Abstract

In Guatemala, 1,137 fruit samples weighing 3,912 kg from 30 host plants had a mean C. capitata infestation of 1.58 (range, 0.1–382.9) pupae/kg and 20.18 (range, 0.1–447) for Anastrepha spp. from 1980 to 1983. A. ludens was the most abundant and was found from 10 to 2,000 m elevation. Ranking of host fruits revealed that C. capitata infested mostly introduced temperate zone fruits and Anastrepha spp. mostly the tropical fruits. Infestation was inversely correlated with the numbers of mature fruits available on the trees and positively correlated with altitude up to 2,000 m for C. capitata and A. ludens, as well as with host plant biomass for C. capitata. An infestation sequence showed the preference of C. capitata for the fruits present in the field. Diversity of host plant infestation of Anastrepha in different regions of South and Central America and the economic importance of both genera in Guatemala are discussed.