The occurrence of cryptic species among economically important fruit flies strongly affects the development of management tactics for these pests. Tools for studying cryptic species not only facilitate evolutionary and systematic studies, but they also provide support for fruit fly management and quarantine activities. Previous studies have shown that the South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus, is a complex of cryptic species, but few studies have been performed on the morphology of its immature stages. An analysis of mandible shape and linear morphometric variability was applied to third-instar larvae of five morphotypes of the A. fraterculus complex: Mexican, Andean, Ecuadorian, Peruvian and Brazilian-1. Outline geometric morphometry was used to study the mouth hook shape and linear morphometry analysis was performed using 24 linear measurements of the body, cephalopharyngeal skeleton, mouth hook and hypopharyngeal sclerite. Different morphotypes were grouped accurately using canonical discriminant analyses of both the geometric and linear morphometry. The shape of the mandible differed among the morphotypes, and the anterior spiracle length, number of tubules of the anterior spiracle, length and height of the mouth hook and length of the cephalopharyngeal skeleton were the most significant variables in the linear morphometric analysis. Third-instar larvae provide useful characters for studies of cryptic species in the A. fraterculus complex.

The Neotropical genus of lance flies Neosilba McAlpine could be found associated with fruits, flowers or buds of plants. There are few basic or applied studies of these insects, including data on taxonomy and/or economic importance. We described ten new species from Colombia: N. plana sp. nov., N. tolimensis sp. nov., N. amphora sp. nov., N. convexa sp. nov., N. concava sp. nov., N. orbata sp. nov., N. spiculata sp. nov., N. angusta sp. nov., N. distospinosa sp. nov. and N. piracea sp. nov. We presented a key for the all 40 valid species of the genus, included in five groups and two subgroups: major, parva, peltae, pendula and glaberrima groups. Glaberrima includes the two subgroups glaberrima and certa, and pendula includes the pendula and nigrocaerulea subgroups. Neosilba parva and N. bifida are reported for first time in Colombia.

Las moscas de la fruta (Tephritoidea: Tephritidae y Lonchaeidae) son una de las principales plagas de la fruticultura a nivel mundial. El conocimiento de las interacciones que presentan las moscas frugívoras con sus plantas hospederas y parasitoides es necesario para el desarrollo de programas de manejo integrado de estas plagas. El objetivo de este trabajo fue describir las relaciones tritróficas (plantas hospederas, moscas frugívoras y parasitoides) en un parche de bosque seco tropical en el Centro Universitario Regional del Norte del municipio de Armero-Guayabal, Tolima. Se colectaron frutos de 35 especies de plantas. Los frutos se transportaron al laboratorio y se dispusieron en forma individual para la posterior pupación y emergencia de moscas y/o parasitoides. Se registraron 2.940 larvas en frutos de 15 especies de plantas. De estas larvas se obtuvieron adultos de seis especies de Tephritidae (cinco de Anastrepha y Toxotrypana curvicauda) y ocho de Lonchaeidae (seis de Neosilba y dos de Lonchaea). Los tefrítidos fueron los más abundantes y causaron los mayores porcentajes de daño (0-83,31%) e índices de infestación (0-10,32 larvas/fruto y 0-463,37 larvas/kg frutos), y los lonquéidos fueron más polífagos con 12 plantas hospederas. Ambas familias compartieron hospederos y se presentaron cohabitando un mismo fruto. Cuando se encuentran en simpatría las especies de Anastrepha tienden a no compartir sus plantas hospederas o un mismo fruto. Las especies de Neosilba si comparten hospederos y frutos. Se encontraron cinco especies de parasitoides. Nuevos registros y asociaciones de plantas hospederas, moscas frugívoras y parasitoides se presentan para Colombia.

The South America fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus s.l. is an important pest of fruits in Latin America and it is really a complex with at least eight cryptic species. In this work, we report the complete mitochondrial genome for the Andean morphotype of A. fraterculus. The mitochondrial genome is 16,739 nucleotides in size; includes 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis was performed using all the protein-coding genes with other 19 species from Tephritidae.

Climate change has affected the geographical distributions of most species worldwide; in particular, insects of economic importance inhabiting tropical regions have been impacted. Current and future predictions of change in geographic distribution are frequently included in species distribution models (SDMs). The potential spatial distributions of the fruit fly Anastrepha striata Schiner, the main species of agricultural importance in guava crops, under current and possible future scenarios in Colombia were modeled, and the establishment risk was assessed for each guava-producing municipality in the country. SDMs were developed using 221 geographical records in conjunction with nine scenopoetic variables. The model for current climate conditions indicated an extensive suitable area for the establishment of A. striata in the Andean region, smaller areas in the Caribbean and Pacific, and almost no areas in the Orinoquia and Amazonian regions. A brief discussion regarding the area's suitability for the fly is offered. According to the results, altitude is one of the main factors that direct the distribution of A. striata in the tropics. The Colombian guava-producing municipalities were classified according to the degree of vulnerability to fly establishment as follows: 42 were high risk, 16 were intermediate risk, and 17 were low risk. The implementation of future integrated management plans must include optimal spatial data and must consider environmental aspects, such as those suggested by the models presented here. Control decisions should aim to mitigate the positive relationship between global warming and the increase in the dispersal area of the fruit fly.