| | Pest fruit flies of the world – larvae |
Body length 8–12.3mm; stout, elongate, tapering anteriorly (?). Integument unsclerotized, entirely whitish to yellowish. Caudal ridge absent. Mature larvae unable to jump.
Head. Head of normal shape. Antenna 2-segmented. Stomal organ: primary lobe large, elongate-rounded (?). Stomal region: secondary lobes absent (?); sclerotized stomal guards absent. Oral ridges present; number of oral ridges 8–14 (usu. 9–12). Elongate, finger-like lobes arising above mandibles absent. Median oral lobe absent or not protruding (?). Labium broad (?).
Cephalopharyngeal skeleton. Mandibles: subapical teeth absent; base stout, nearly perpendicular to a line from ventral part of base to apex of mandible. Parastomal bars elongate, free from hypopharyngeal sclerite. Dental sclerites apparently absent, not visible in lateral view.
Spinules and creeping welts. Dorsal spinules on segments T1-A1, or T1-A2.
Caudal segment (a8) and anal lobes. Sensilla on caudal segment 10 pairs, with at least 7 pairs visible under dissecting microscope. Dorsal caudal sensilla obvious, sessile or on separate papillae or tubercles. Intermediate caudal sensillum I3 absent or visible only with great difficulty, or obvious, but not on a papilla or tubercle. Lateral caudal sensillum absent or visible only with great difficulty, or obvious, but not on a papilla or tubercle. Intermediate caudal sensilla I1a&b obvious, on a single papilla or tubercle, not bifid apically, or obvious, on a single papilla or tubercle, bifid apically. Intermediate caudal sensillum I2 obvious (?). Intermediate caudal sensilla I1a&b and I2 on separate papillae or tubercles. Ventral caudal sensilla absent or visible only with great difficulty, or obvious, but not on a papilla or tubercle (?). Anal lobes plainly visible, but not strongly protuberant; simple, or grooved, or bifid (28%16%55%).
Anterior spiracles. Anterior spiracle elevated, margin concave medially, appearing bilobed. Anterior spiracular tubules 16–23 (usu. 18–21); in a single uniform row.
Posterior spiracles. Posterior spiracular area not distinctly set off from caudal segment. Posterior spiracles: average length of dorsal and ventral rimae 86–120µm; slits 2.7–4.2x longer than wide (2.9–3.9~datasheet). Dorsal spiracular processes with a few trunks radiating from a short or semicircular base (short to medium processes). Number of dorsal spiracular processes 10–13. Number of ventral spiracular processes 6–12. Number of lateral spiracular processes 4–13. Basal width of spiracular processes 12–34µm. Dorsal and ventral spiracular processes: average number of tips 10–22. Dorsal and ventral spiracular processes: ratio of number of tips to number of trunks 1.1–2.2. Area between posterior spiracles smooth (?).
Host plants. Passifloraceae.
Part of plant attacked: fruit.
Biogeographic region. Neotropical.
Specimens examined. Based on description by Steck & Wharton (1988; Panama: Capira, 19–20.x.1935 J.Zetek 3552, reared ex Passiflora quadrangularis (n=31) (NMNH, with associated adults). Sources of data and SEM numbers: (Steck et al. data).
Illustrations. • Cephalopharyngeal skeleton, caudal segment (posterior). • Spiracles.
We advise against extracting comparative information from the descriptions. This is much more easily achieved using the DELTA data files or the interactive key, which allows access to the character list, illustrations, full and partial descriptions, diagnostic descriptions, differences and similarities between taxa, lists of taxa exhibiting or lacking specified attributes, and distributions of character states within any set of taxa. See also Guidelines for using data taken from Web publications.
Cite this publication as: ‘L.E. Carroll, A.L. Norrbom, M.J. Dallwitz, and F.C. Thompson. 2004 onwards. Pest fruit flies of the world – larvae. Version: 9th April 2019. delta-intkey.com’.
