First record of Tomoplagia and new occurrences of Hexachaeta (Diptera: Tephritidae) in the state of Acre, Brazil

DOI: 10.52945/rac.v39i.2635
Published 2026-11-10

Authors

Abstract

The family Tephritidae includes species that, although often understudied because they have no direct economic importance, play relevant ecological roles in tropical ecosystems. This study reports new occurrence records of Hexachaeta Loew, 1873 and the first record of Tomoplagia Coquillett, 1910 in the state of Acre, Brazil. Sampling was conducted fortnightly from January to December 2025 using ten McPhail traps baited with a hydrolyzed soybean protein-based food attractant and distributed across seven municipalities in the Alto Acre and Baixo Acre regions. The specimens were identified using taxonomic keys, and the identifications were validated by a specialist. A total of 268 tephritids were collected, of which 243 belonged to Anastrepha, two to Hexachaeta, and 23 to Tomoplagia. The Hexachaeta specimens were collected in Rio Branco and Assis Brasil, whereas Tomoplagia was recorded in Rio Branco, Bujari, Porto Acre, Brasiléia, and Assis Brasil. The occurrence of Hexachaeta in Acre was previously known from a single record of Hexachaeta amabilis (Loew, 1873), based on material collected in 1951. The Tomoplagia specimens constitute the first known record of the genus in the state. These findings expand current knowledge of the geographic distribution of these taxa and reinforce the need for Tephritidae surveys in undersampled regions of the Brazilian Amazon.

Author Biographies

  • Dr. Rodrigo Souza Santos

    Laboratory of Entomology

    • Conceptualization
    • Data Curation
    • Formal Analysis
    • Methodology
    • Supervision
    • Writing – Original Draft Preparation
    Competing Interests

    Não há

  • Msc. Andressa Souza de Lima

    Engenheira-agrônoma. Mestre em Produção Vegetal (UFAC). Doutoranda em Produção Vegetal na Universidade Federal do Acre (UFAC) – Rio Branco, AC, Brasil. Orcid: 0009-0008-0636-4960. Lattes:  http://lattes.cnpq.br/4162839948093518. E-mail: andressasouza3118@gmail.com

    • Formal Analysis
    • Investigation
    • Visualization
    • Writing – Review & Editing
    Competing Interests

    Não há

  • Msc. Maria Érica Costa de Lim

    Universidade Federal do Acre

    • Formal Analysis
    • Visualization
    • Writing – Review & Editing
    • Investigation
    Competing Interests

    Não há

  • Stefanny Maira de Araújo Aguiar

    Instituto Federal do Acre - IFAC

    • Writing – Original Draft Preparation
    • Investigation
    • Data Curation
    Competing Interests

    Não há

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Keywords

  • Western Amazon
  • Diversity
  • Endophagous insect
  • Faunistic survey
  • Tephritoidea