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A New Record of Safflower Fly Acanthiophilus helianthi (Rossi) of Genus Acanthiophilus Becker in Subfamily Tephritinae (Diptera: Tephritidae) from the Fauna of Pakistan

Muhammad Riaz and Muhammad Sarwar

Family Tephritidae of order Diptera comprises with the greatest diversity and the largest number of fruit fly species, which impose quarantine restrictions for imports of fruits and vegetables from countries in which they occur. Various species of fruit flies (Tephritidae) are pests of highly important horticulture crops, inflicting serious damage of high economic values. Of them, fly species Acanthiophilus helianthi (Rossi) of genus Acanthiophilus Becker in Subfamily Tephritinae, now has been reported troublesome as an important pest on safflower (Carthamus oxyacantha) and the thistle (Carduus nutans) host plants for the fly fauna of Pakistan. This presents the interactions of fruit fly species with host plant species from this region recorded for the first time. It was discovered that the fruit fly was associated with host fruits inflicting sever injury. This is the first record of A. helianthi from this State and all of these associations are new records. The localities from which pest samples were collected are indicated in the manuscript. Knowledge of frugivorous Tephritoidea species richness and their interactions with the host plants is extremely important to integrated pest management stratagem.