First report of a parasitoid attacking eggs or neonate larvae of a tephritid in the Neotropics

In Veracruz, Mexico, Doryctobracon areolatus is the most abundant native parasitoid species attacking Anastrepha obliqua in Spondias spp. Based on our field samplings, we considered that this species could parasitize earlier developmental larval stages in relation to sympatric parasitoid species. Therefore, our aim in this study was to determine if D. areolatus parasitize eggs and early larval stages of A. obliqua. A. obliqua eggs were exposed to the parasitoid in cages 24, 48, and 72-h after A. obliqua females laid their eggs in the fruit, in order to cover the different egg stages before larval hatch. Seven-day-old D. areolatus females were placed in each cage for three hours. Immediately after exposition, A. obliqua eggs and newly hatched larvae were extracted from the fruits. The eggs were characterized as either yolk-egg or embryo-egg. All of the A. obliqua individuals in the egg and larval stages were dissected to characterize and record the immature stages of D. areolatus. The relationship between the immature stages of D. areolatus and the immature stages of A. obliqua was significant (Chi-square test, χ²₄ = 22.14 P˂ 0.0001). It is concluded that D. areolatus has the capacity to oviposit in embryo eggs and neonate larvae of A. obliqua. This finding represents the first report of a parasitoid attacking eggs or neonate larvae of a tephritid in the Neotropics. The implications of this finding are discussed within the context of the competitive interactions of this species with other parasitoid species under sympatric conditions.