Thread subject: Diptera.info :: Paracantha species in the USA

Posted by Calilasseia on 09-07-2013 02:01
#1

Recently, on another forum, one of my fellow correspondents posted photographs she had taken of an unusual looking insect, that had me temporarily puzzled, wondering if I was dealing with a Tephritid fly, or a possible Psylllid. After trawling through lots of photographs, I alighted upon an entire Genus of Tephritid flies that matched her photos exactly, namely the Genus Paracantha. According to the information I can find, there are three species of Paracantha in the USA, two of which can be found in California, but according to the resource I was searching through, the adult flight times for those species were considerably divergent from this sighting.

So, does anyone here have detailed data on adult flight times for Paracantha species in California? If there's an open access scientific paper covering this, so much the better. :)

Many thanks in advance.

Posted by John Carr on 09-07-2013 03:16
#2

There are three species in California according to Foote et al. (1993) Handbook of the Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) of America North of Mexico. They are distinguishable by the pattern of dark rays near the wingtip and hairs and spots on the lower corner of the face.