Ceratitis
Description
Body. Small to medium-sized; body length 3.8-9.6 mm; either slender or stout; elongate, tapering anteriorly. Integument unsclerotized, entirely whitish to yellowish. Caudal ridge present. Mature larvae able to jump.
Head. Head of normal shape; cephalic lobes slightly-to-moderately developed. Antenna 2-segmented.
Stomal organ: primary lobe small, round; at least three peg sensilla; peg sensilla unbranched.
Stomal region: secondary lobes present, short, leaf-like, 4-6 preoral lobes; margins of secondary lobes all entire; sclerotized stomal guards absent. Oral ridges present; number of oral ridges 7-13. Accessory plates usually absent. Elongate, finger-like lobes arising above mandibles absent. Median oral lobe absent or not protruding. Labium broad.
Cephalopharyngeal skeleton. Mandibles: subapical teeth often absent; if present, much smaller than apical tooth; minute secondary subapical tooth present (but often absent in C. capitata), visible only in slide mounts or SEM images; base elongate, forming a more oblique angle; mandible with neck. Parastomal bars elongate, free from hypopharyngeal sclerite. Dental sclerites present, posterior to mandibles.
Anterior spiracles.Anterior spiracles convex to flat, or concave medially, possibly appearing bilobed. Variable amount of anterior spiracular tubules, usually fewer than 16 but sometimes as many as 25; sometimes in a single uniform row.
Spinules and creeping welts. Dorsal spinules on variable amount of thoracic and abdominal segments; always on T1 and T2, sometimes extending posteriorly to A2.
Caudal segment (A8) and anal lobes. Sensilla on caudal segment 10 pair, with at least 7 pair visible under dissecting microscope. Dorsal caudal sensilla on separate papillae or tubercles. Intermediate caudal sensillum I3 obvious, not on a papilla or tubercle. I1a&b on a single papilla or tubercle, bifid apically. Lateral caudal sensillum obvious, not on a papilla or tubercle. Ventral caudal sensilla absent or visible only with great difficulty, or obvious, not on a papilla or tubercle (2 pits, 1 papilla). Anal lobe morphology unclear, probably simple, plainly visible.
Posterior spiracles. Posterior spiracular area not distinctly set off from caudal segment. Posterior spiracles: slits 2.5-3.5x longer than wide. Dorsal spiracular processes with numerous trunks, radiating from a short or semicircular base except in C. pedestris, which has an elongate base. Processes medium-to-long; number of spiracular processes variable; dorsal spiracular processes range 6-13; ventral processes range 6-13; lateral processes range 3-9. Area between posterior spiracles smooth.
Host plants
Many families.
Part of plant attacked: fruit.
Biogeographic region and distribution
Many species of economic importance are Afrotropical, but some have cosmopolitan distribution (e.g. C. capitata)
Adult taxonomy
Ceratitis MacLeay, 1829
Subgenus Ceratisis MacLeay
Subgenus Ceratalaspis Hancock
Subgenus Pardalaspis Bezzi
Subgenus Pterandrus Bezzi
References
Carroll, L. E., A. L. Norrbom, M. J. Dallwitz, and F. C. Thompson. 2004 onwards. Pest fruit flies of the world – larvae. Version: 8th December 2006. http://delta-intkey.com.
Steck, G. J., and S. Ekesi. 2015. Description of third instar larvae of Ceratitis fasciventris, C. anonae, C. rosa(FAR complex) and C. capitata(Diptera, Tephritidae). ZooKeys, (540), 443.
White, I. M. and M. M. Elson-Harris. 1992. Fruit Flies of Economic Significance: Their Identification and Bionomics. International Institute of Entomology, London. xii + 601 p.
