D3174: Documenting larval morphology in the fly genus Anastrepha: The larval tissue preparation and data generation pipeline

The genus Anastrepha, and family Tephritidae as a whole, represent a significant threat to native flora and agricultural systems worldwide, requiring constant vigilance for the detection of all life stages in imported plant material. As the larval stage of these flies are poorly known, detailed descriptions of larval morphology and an understanding of the morphological variation across species needed for the rapid and accurate identification of these important larvae is greatly needed. In order to fill this gap in knowledge, a system of processing preserved fly larvae into quantifiable data points was created using a series of habitus imaging, dissection, DNA extraction, cuticle digestion, slide mounting, and microscopy. This workflow represents an inexpensive yet reliable method of documenting morphological features for preserved larval specimens of Tephritidae, which can easily be extrapolated to other taxa within the order Diptera. The resulting data can be incorporated into descriptions of new larvae, identification keys, and phylogenetic analyses, further the study of biodiversity and detecting important agricultural pests.