Insects reared from the wild fruits of Kenya

Abstract

A summary is presented of the data collected during a 5-year survey of the indigenous fruits of Kenya and the insects reared from them. A total of 3838 collections were made representing 910 distinct plant taxa from 118 families. Insects were reared from fruit of 57.5% of the species. Tephritidae (fruit flies) was the family most commonly produced by fruits, emerging from 24.5% of samples representing 269 host species. Lepidoptera were reared from a smaller percentage of samples (19.0%) but from more plant species (349, 38.4%). A minimum of 672 insect species from 60 families were recognised, many of them undescribed. Most insect species were monophagous, but extreme polyphagy was seen in three families, Tephritidae, Coleophoridae, and Tortricidae. A CD-ROM is included that provides more detailed information on all sampled plant species and associated insects plus a multiple-entry key to the plants. The database includes 2224 images of plants and 614 of insects.