02056naa a2200313 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902400290006010000260008924501510011526000090026652011480027565000230142365000280144665000160147465000190149065000200150965300170152965300140154670000160156070000160157670000200159270000250161270000200163770000220165770000170167970000150169677300310171121326842021-11-25       2021    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d7 a10.7717/peerj.115302DOI1 aSOUSA, M. do S. M. de  aSpondias mombin as a reservoir of fruit fly parasitoid populations in the Eastern Amazonban undervalued ecosystem service.h[electronic resource]  c2021  aFruit flies are economically important pests that infest a wide variety of host trees. The environmental damage caused by traditional pesticide-based control methods has prompted scientists to seek less damaging alternatives such as biological control by native species. Parasitoids, especially Braconidae species, have excellent potential as biological control agents for fruit flies, being both generalists and well distributed geographically. Native fruit trees that support medium or high levels of these parasitoids could therefore play an important role in biological control strategies. A good potential example is Spondias mombin L. in the Brazilian Amazon, which hosts several species of fruit flies and associated parasitoids. Here, we provide a unique synthesis of over nearly two decades of data from the east Amazon, clearly demonstrating the potential of S. mombin to act as a source and reservoir of fruit fly parasitoids. This important ecosystem service (biological control) provided by the parasitoids and supported by S. mombin could be further enhanced through conservation of this plant species in its natural environment.  aAnastrepha obliqua  aDoryctobracon areolatus  aPlant pests  aFruta Tropical  aPraga de Planta  aOpius bellus  aTaperebá1 aDEUS, E. de1 aLIMA, A. L.1 aJESUS, C. R. de1 aCOSTA NETO, S. V. da1 aLEMOS, L. do N.1 aMALHADO, A. C. M.1 aLADLE, R. J.1 aADAIME, R.  tPeerJ, Jun. p. 1-23, 2021.