Bactrocera nigrotibialis species complex

Taxonomy

In the identification keys of Drew and Romig (2016)Drew and Romig (2016):
Drew RAI, Romig MC, 2016. Keys to the Tropical Fruit Flies of South-East Asia. CABI Publishing, 487 pp., the B. nigrotibialis species 'complex' includes 13 species. This not a monophyletic group (San Jose et al. 2018San Jose et al. 2018:
San Jose M, Doorenweerd C, Leblanc L, Barr N, Geib S, Rubinoff D, 2018. Incongruence between molecules and morphology: A seven-gene phylogeny of Dacini fruit flies paves the way for reclassification (Diptera: Tephritidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 121: 139–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2017.12.001 ) but maintained here for lack of a better alternative.

Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) paradiospyri Chen, Zhou, and Li, 2011
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) nigrifemorata Lin and Wang, 2011
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) nigrifacia Zhang, Ji, and Chen, 2011
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) lata (Perkins, 1938)
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) nigrofemoralis White and Tsurata, 2001
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) nigrotibialis (Perkins, 1938)
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) bellisi Drew and Romig, 2013Drew and Romig, 2013:
Drew RAI, Romig MC, 2013. Tropical fruit flies of South-East Asia. CABI, 655 pp.
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) wuzhishana Lin and Yang, 2006
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) nationigrotibialis Drew and Romig, 2013Drew and Romig, 2013:
Drew RAI, Romig MC, 2013. Tropical fruit flies of South-East Asia. CABI, 655 pp.
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) neonigrotibialis Drew, 2002
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) apiconigroscutella Drew, 2002
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) perigrapha White and Tsuruta, 2001
Valid name: Bactrocera (Bactrocera) pernigra (Ito, 1983)

Morphology-based identification

Species in the Bactrocera nigrotibialis complex are grouped together based on having a predominantly black thorax, abdomen, and legs. Characters to distinguish species within the complex are the facial markings and shape and size and presence or absence of dark markings on the legs. All species in the complex can be identified based on morphological characters.

Molecular identification

Based on the COI sequence data of Doorenweerd et al. (2024)Doorenweerd et al. (2024):
Doorenweerd C, San Jose M, Leblanc L, Barr N, Geib SM, Chung AYC, Dupuis JR, Ekayanti A, Fiegalan E, Hemachandra KS, Hossain MA, Huang C, Hsu Y, Morris KY, Maryani A. Mustapeng A, Niogret J, Pham TH, Thi Nguyen N, Sirisena UGAI, Todd T, Rubinoff D, 2024. Towards a better future for DNA barcoding: Evaluating monophyly‐ and distance‐based species identification using COI gene fragments of Dacini fruit flies. Molecular Ecology Resources 24: e13987. https://doi.org/10.1111/1755-0998.13987, Bactrocera nigrotibialis, B. nigrifacia, B. nigrofemoralis, B. lata, and B. morula are in a mixed cluster and cannot be identified to species-level with COI. Bactrocera perigrapha, B. pernigra, B. paradiospyri, and B. wuzhisana are not closely related to the B. nigrotibialis COI cluster and can be identified using COI sequence data. There are no COI reference sequence data available for B. neonigrotibialis, B. nationigritibialis, B. nigrifemorata, B. bellisi, and B. apiconigroscutella.

Distribution

All members of the Bactrocera nigrotibialis species complex are in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Native ranges for most are unstudied. The nominative B. nigrotibialis is widespread and common.

Further information

Bactrocera nigrotibialis and B. nigrofemoralis are reported as "category D" pests in Vargas et al. (2015)Vargas et al. (2015):
Vargas RI, Pinero JC, Leblanc L, 2015. An overview of pest species of Bactrocera fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) and the integration of biopesticides with other biological approaches for their management with a focus on the pacific region. Insects 6: 297–318. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects6020297. A category D pest is there defined as "species that have been occasionally bred from commercial/edible fruit or cucurbits".