A new species of Munromyia Bezzi (Diptera: Tephritidae) reared from Chionanthus battiscombei (Oleaceae) in Northern Kenya

Publication Type

Journal Article

Journal Name

Journal of Natural History

Publication Date

11-17-2009

Abstract

Munromyia marsabitensis sp. nov. is described from the isolated mountains of Marsabit in northern Kenya. It can be distinguished from the two known congeners by the thoracic and abdominal colour patterns, structure of the male and female terminalia, and host plants. Larvae are seed predators, developing within the green, aborted fruits of Chionanthus battiscombei. Over 70% of sampled fruits (n = 74) were infested with larvae, but nearly all of the individually infested fruits (96.1%) produced only one adult tephritid. Bactrocera biguttula, but not M. marsabitensis, was reared from ripe fruits of the same plant. © 2009 Taylor & Francis.

Keywords

Bactrocera biguttula, Kenya, Munromyia marsabitensis sp. nov., Seed predation

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