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Drosophila is a genus of flies, belonging to the family Drosophilidae, whose members are often called "small fruit flies" or pomace flies, vinegar flies, or wine flies, a reference to the characteristic of many species to linger around overripe or rotting fruit. They should not be confused with the Tephritidae, a related family, which are also called fruit flies ; tephritids feed primarily on unripe or ripe fruit, with many species being regarded as destructive agricultural pests, especially the Mediterranean fruit fly.
Flies are insects of the order Diptera, the name being derived from the Greek δι- di- "two", and πτερόν pteron "wing". Insects of this order use only a single pair of wings to fly, the hindwings having evolved into advanced mechanosensory organs known as halteres, which act as high-speed sensors of rotational movement and allow dipterans to perform advanced aerobatics. Diptera is a large order containing an estimated 1,000,000 species including horse-flies, crane flies, hoverflies, mosquitoes and others, although only about 125,000 species have been described.
The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a method of biological insect control, whereby overwhelming numbers of sterile insects are released into the wild. The released insects are preferably male, as this is more cost-effective and the females may in some situations cause damage by laying eggs in the crop, or, in the case of mosquitoes, taking blood from humans. The sterile males compete with fertile males to mate with the females. Females that mate with a sterile male produce no offspring, thus reducing the next generation's population. Sterile insects are not self-replicating and, therefore, cannot become established in the environment. Repeated release of sterile males over low population densities can further reduce and in cases of isolation eliminate pest populations, although cost-effective control with dense target populations is subjected to population suppression prior to the release of the sterile males.
The Tephritidae are one of two fly families referred to as fruit flies, the other family being the Drosophilidae. The family Tephritidae does not include the biological model organisms of the genus Drosophila, which is often called the "common fruit fly". Nearly 5,000 described species of tephritid fruit fly are categorized in almost 500 genera of the Tephritidae. Description, recategorization, and genetic analyses are constantly changing the taxonomy of this family. To distinguish them from the Drosophilidae, the Tephritidae are sometimes called peacock flies, in reference to their elaborate and colorful markings. The name comes from the Greek τεφρος, tephros, meaning "ash grey". They are found in all the biogeographic realms.
Ceratitis capitata, commonly known as the Mediterranean fruit fly or medfly, is a yellow-and-brown fly native to sub-Saharan Africa. It has no near relatives in the Western Hemisphere and is considered to be one of the most destructive fruit pests in the world. There have been occasional medfly infestations in California, Florida, and Texas that require extensive eradication efforts to prevent the fly from establishing itself in the United States.
The Tetracampidae are a small family of parasitic wasps in the superfamily Chalcidoidea. They are parasitoids of phytophagous insects, primarily flies. The 44 species in 15 genera are almost entirely absent from the New World.
Rhagionidae or snipe flies are a small family of flies. They get their name from the similarity of their often prominent proboscis that looks like the beak of a snipe.
Ceratitis is a genus of tephritid fruit flies with about 80 species. One of the best known species is Ceratitis capitata, the Mediterranean fruit fly.
The Dacinae are a subfamily of the fruit fly family Tephritidae. Its 41 genera are distributed among three tribes:
Ocnerioxyna is a genus of tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae.
A genetically modified (GM) insect is an insect that has been genetically modified, either through mutagenesis, or more precise processes of transgenesis, or cisgenesis. Motivations for using GM insects include biological research purposes and genetic pest management. Genetic pest management capitalizes on recent advances in biotechnology and the growing repertoire of sequenced genomes in order to control pest populations, including insects. Insect genomes can be found in genetic databases such as NCBI, and databases more specific to insects such as FlyBase, VectorBase, and BeetleBase. There is an ongoing initiative started in 2011 to sequence the genomes of 5,000 insects and other arthropods called the i5k. Some Lepidoptera have been genetically modified in nature by the wasp bracovirus.
Ceratitis ovalis is a species of Tephritid or fruit flies in the family Tephritidae.
Ceratitis grahami is a species of insect in the family Tephritidae. This is a genus of Tephritid or fruit flies.
Ceratitis penicillata is a species of fruit fly from the family Tephritidae.
Ceratitis podocarpi is a species of fruit flies in the family Tephritidae. It is a pest of various cultivated species of Cucurbitaceae, especially the pumpkin, squash and melon. Ceratitis podocarpi is found in almost all Southern African countries like Ethiopia, Kenya, South Africa.
Ceratitis aliena is a species of insect in the family Tephritidae. This is a genus of Tephritid or fruit flies.
Tephritini is a tribe of fruit flies in the family Tephritidae. There are about 80 genera and some 1000 described species in Tephritini.
Zaprionus tuberculatus is a member of the subgenus and genus Zaprionus, family Drosophilidae, and order Diptera. It is an invasive fruit fly that originated in Africa, but can also be found in Europe and Asia. The fly earned its common name, the "vinegar fly", because researchers frequently captured the species using vinegar traps. Z. tuberculatus was previously considered a strictly tropical fly, but evidence of invasion to nontropical regions such as Turkey has been shown.
Ernest James Harris was an American entomologist who is best known for his work on Biosteres arisanus, a species of wasp. He was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame in 1999.
Anastrepha fraterculus, known as the South American fruit fly, is a fruit fly species from the genus Anastrepha. A. fraterculus is a polyphagous, frugivorous fly that is a significant pest of commercial fruit production in South America.
References
- ↑ "Ceratitis flexuosa - Overview - Encyclopedia of Life". Encyclopedia of Life. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
- ↑ "Ceratitis flexuosa - ZipcodeZoo". zipcodezoo.com. Retrieved 2016-01-17.
- ↑ "True Fruit flies of the Afrotropical Region". projects.bebif.be. Retrieved 2024-02-18.
- ↑ "True Fruit flies of the Afrotropical Region". projects.bebif.be. Retrieved 2024-02-18.