Anastrepha Main | Tephritidae Main | Diptera Home | SEL Home

Anastrepha fernandezi Caraballo

Recognition
Anastrepha fernandezi belongs to the schausi species group, which differs from other species of Anastrepha in having minute spines on the glans of the male, the facial carina weak, the lateral surstylus acute, its lateral margin usually slightly concave, and the male face and/or abdomen with white or brown markings. Anastrepha fernandezi differs from all other species of Anastrepha except A. hermosa and A. schausi by the shape of the face, particularly its angulate lower margin. It differs from both of these species in wing pattern (V-band incomplete) and male facial and abdominal color patterns. Males of A. fernandezi have a white spot on the facial ridge, whereas A. hermosa and A. schausi have broad white or black facial bands. The medial white stripe on the male abdomen is more extensive than in A. hermosa and the dark brown abdominal markings are absent in A. schausi. A. fernandezi also differs from A. hermosa in having broader nonmicrotrichose areas on the scutum. The abdominal microtrichia pattern is also a useful diagnostic characters. Females would probably run to A. aphelocentema Stone, A. nunezae Steyskal, or A. greenei Lima in the key of Steyskal (1977); these species have normally shaped faces with strong carinae, and at least A. aphelocentema and A. nunezae lack the median stripe of microtrichia on the scutum in A. fernandezi.

Description

Adult: Mostly yellow brown to orange; setae blackish; setulae orange.
	Head: Orange except ocellar tubercle and in male creamy white oval spot on facial ridge; face microtrichose, short, ventral part expanded laterally, in anteroventral view lower margin of face and facial ridge meeting at about 90° angle, carina weak; gena narrow, height 0.11-0.13 longest diameter of eye; posterior orbital seta well developed; ocellar seta weak; first flagellomere moderately long but nearly reaching lower facial margin, length 0.84-0.85 height of face.
Thorax: Mesonotum 2.96-3.78 mm long; scutum without microtrichia except narrow medial stripe, slightly expanding posteriorly, and lateral to supra-alar seta; scutum mostly orange, with narrow pale medial stripe and white postsutural lateral vittae; scutellum microtrichose; katepisternal setae strong, about as long as outer vertical seta; subscutellum and mediotergite entirely orange; pleural color pattern indistinct.
Wing: Length 7.88-9.96 mm. With typical Anastrepha pattern, bands light to moderate brown, very narrow, not connected; V-band interrupted at apex; M weakly curved apically, well separated from apex of S-band.
Male abdomen Syntergite 1+2 orange; tergites 3-5 with broad lateral dark brown stripes, meeting at posterior margin of tergite 5; tergites with median stripe of dense microtrichia, nearly corresponding with light colored area, producing silvery appearance at certain angles. Terminalia with surstylus moderately long, flat, acute, with outer margin slightly concave, inner margin straight to slightly concave; phallus 5.87 mm long, 1.85 times as long as mesonotum; glans 0.55 mm long, with numerous minute apical spines, acrophallus expanded and involuted apically; proctiger uncreased laterally, weakly sclerotized.
Female abdomen Tergites mostly light brown; with median microtrichose stripe, narrow on tergite 4, expanding on tergites 5 and 6. Terminalia with oviscape 4.30-5.06 mm long; eversible membrane with about 40 hooklike dorsobasal scales in 5-6 rows, gradually increasing in length apically; aculeus 4.00-4.36 mm long, base gradually but distinctly expanded, tip 0.30-0.32 mm long, about 0.11 mm wide at base, nonserrate, basal peglike ventrolateral sensilla well separated; spermathecae elongate ovoid.
Immature stages: Unknown.