ABSTRACT
Anastrepha is an economically important genus of the family Tephritidae that infests over 180 plant species from southern United States to northern Argentina. In choosing potential mates, females of some Anastrepha species discriminate in favor of larger conspecific males, which produce calling songs of lower fundamental frequency and shorter intervals between bursts. If significant differences exist among calling songs of cryptic Anastrepha species, quantification of such differences could assist in species identification. The chapter analyzes male songs of A. obliqua, A. sororcula, A. grandis, and two geographically separated populations of A. fraterculus to determine if they contain group-specific acoustical features. Digitized files of recordings from individual males were analyzed by standard digital signal processing techniques. A. sororcula occurs sympatrically with A. fraterculus in much of Brazil and overlaps considerably in its host range.
