Description of eggs of anastrepha spp. (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the spatulata group using scanning electron microscopy

Abstract

We provide detailed scanning electron microscopy observations of eggs of three Anastrepha species in the spatulata group: Anastrepha manihoti Lima, Anastrepha montei Lima, and Anastrepha pickeli Lima, for the first time. Eggs were dissected from females captured in McPhail traps and examined using both scanning electron and optical microscopes. The eggs are tapered at both ends, have a papilla at the anterior pole, and the micropyle is located on the dorsal side near the anterior pole. Diagnostic characters for differentiating among these three species include the location of aeropyles, presence of a respiratory horn in A. manihoti and A. pickeli, and a pronounced rim of the chorion with a smooth surface surrounding the micropyle. Eggs of A. montei have a narrow patch of seemingly porous surface on the ventral side of the anterior pole. Such a character has not been reported previously for eggs of Tephritidae. © 2011 Entomological Society of America.