Revisiting the History and Biogeography of and Other Olive-Feeding Fruit Flies in Africa and Asia.

Rossi causes important agricultural losses in olive growing regions. Despite its economic relevance, the expansion history and biogeography of and other olive-feeding fruit flies remain unclear. We used mitogenomic data of species from a broad geographic range to explore possible historical biogeographic patterns in and other olive-feeding fruit flies. Our data suggest that (1) the transition from stenophagy on Oleaceae to oligophagy on most likely occurred in Africa more than 6 million years ago (MYA), and (2) the subsequent transition to monophagy on took place in Asia or in Africa in the Early Pleistocene. Our results support equally the hypotheses that the ancestors of modern underwent two waves of migration from Asia to Africa or that they zigzagged between Asia and Africa.