Terellia sp. near longicauda

Harym, Younes El & Belqat, Boutaina, 2017, First checklist of the fruit flies of Morocco, including new records (Diptera, Tephritidae), ZooKeys 702, pp. 137-171 : 138

Terellia sp. near longicauda

New record.

Morocco, Rif: Douar Kitane, 4♂♂, 10-VIII-2016- 2♂♂, 3♀♀, 11-VIII-2016- 1♂, 3♀♀, 12-VIII-2016- 1♀, 13-VIII-2016 (reared). First record for Morocco and North Africa.

Host plants.

Flower heads of Cynara cardunculus L. (Fig. 6) from which the specimens were reared.

World distribution.

Spain, Canary Islands ( Merz 1992).

Comments.

This is an undescribed, cryptic species of the Terellia serratulae L. complex known to infest Cynara cardunculus L. in Spain and the Canary Islands. The serratula group contains cryptic species, a situation that needs to be resolved, and for which a molecular approach should be adopted (Valery Korneyev, pers. comm.).