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

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.

Keywords:

• Munromyia marsabitensis sp. nov.
• Kenya
• seed predation
• Bactrocera biguttula

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by USDA/CSREES/IFAFS grant no. 00-52103-9651 to R.A. Wharton, Texas A&M University. COI sequences were gathered and analyzed through a grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation to PDN Hebert (University of Guelph). Scott Miller and Karie Darrow of the US National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), Smithsonian Institution, provided logistical support and technical help respectively. Quentin Luke confirmed the identification of the host plant. Allen Norrbom of the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, ARS, USDA and William Overholt, University of Florida, provided important comments in reviewing an earlier version of the manuscript. Lucrecia Rodriguez, of the Systematic Entomology Laboratory, ARS, USDA, helped greatly in preparing wing slides.