Rhagoletis nicaraguensis Hernández-Ortiz & Frías, 2000

Rodriguez, Pedro Alexander, Norrbom, Allen L., Peñaranda, Guadalupe Caicedo Emilio Arévalo & Balseiro, Francisco, 2021, New species and host plant records for Neotropical Rhagoletis Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae), Zootaxa 5060 (2), pp. 231-244 : 239-240

Rhagoletis nicaraguensis Hernández-Ortiz & Frías

Rhagoletis nicaraguensis Hernández-Ortiz & Frías 2000: 17 (Holotype ♀ (Instituto de Ecología, Xalapa), Nicaragua: Meseta de los Pueblos , Carazo, San Marcos , 1 Oct 1994, M. Niklaus-Ruiz).

Distribution. This species has been recorded from Nicaragua ( Hernández-Ortiz & Frías 2000); additional specimens from Costa Rica are reported here.

Specimens examined. COSTA RICA: Cartago: Tres Ríos , [9.90000°N 83.98333°W], 21 May 1988, C. Centeno, 1♂ ( UCRSJ) . San José: San Antonio de Escazú , [9.91667°N 84.13333°W], 1300 m, Jun 1989, W. Eberhard, 1♀ ( UCRSJ) ; San Antonio de Escazú , [9.91667°N 84.13333°W], 1300 m, Sep 1992, W. Eberhard, 1♀ ( USNM USNMENT00214381 ) ; Ciudad Universitaria [Rodrigo Facio], [9.93583°N 84.05056°W], 7 Jul 1978, L. F. Jirón, 1♀ paratype R. jamaicensis ( USNM USNMENT01355413 ) ; Santa Ana , [9.93199°N 84.17598°W], AAT traps, 14 May 1958, E. Morales, 3♀ ( USNM USNMENT01355410–12 ) .

Biology. Host plant unknown.

Comments. Hernández-Ortiz & Frías (2000) distinguished R. jamaicensis from R. nicaraguensis on the basis of whether the discal and subapical bands were connected posteriorly (connected in R. nicaraguensis , separated in R. jamaicensis ), the breadth of the connection between the subapical and posterior apical bands (hyaline area between them not entering cell r 4+ 5 in R. nicaraguensis ), and the width of the brown basal area on the disk of the scutellum (narrower in R. nicaraguensis ). Martínez et al. (2017) described the variation in these characters in Colombian populations of R. jamaicensis , particularly the wing characters, and they likewise vary in the newly reported specimens from Colombia. The examined specimens from Costa Rica vary in the connection of the discal and subapical bands. Although they have the posterior apical band more narrowly connected to the subapical band and vary slightly in the width of the basal brown area on the scutellum, the latter area is narrow. These specimens are therefore tentatively considered to be R. nicaraguensis rather than R. jamaicensis . Further study of these species is needed to confirm their status.