Introduction

This platform enable users to examine the data of the wild fruits of Kenya and their associated insect fauna, specifically those that use fruits in their breeding cycles. Although the primary focus of our study was on fruits as larval habitats of fruit flies (Tephritidae), particularly those of economic importance, many other insects exploit fruits. And while there is a large body of information on the associations of insects with the leafy and woody parts of plants, there is little data available on the guild of insects exploiting fruits, either as pulp or seed feeders, or as parasitoids of species from these two groups. This is especially true for Africa. In addition to tephritids, by including in the platform records of the many other insect groups feeding within fruits we hoped to provide the baseline information necessary for a fuller appreciation of the possibilities available for studying insect-fruit interactions.

Scope of the Database

The plant database contains approximately 873 plant types, primarily species. The majority of these species are indigenous to Kenya, but the database also includes certain non-native, species like guava and cultivated species like mango. During the early stages of the project, the collection were focused on plants likely to attract frugivorous tephritids, which skewed the sampling towards fruits with fleshy pulp. Notably, some significant plant taxa, including many from the Asteraceae, Burseraceae, and Fabaceae families, have fewer species with fleshy fruits and were sampled less frequently. Furthermore, the study concentration was primarily on woody plants, as they typically produce a greater abundance of fruits compared to herbaceous plants. While our coverage of woody plants wasn't exhaustive, it was substantial, encompassing approximately 40% of all species and a significantly higher percentage of those with fleshy fruits. This coverage aligns closely with the information found in "Kenya Trees Shrubs and Lianas" (Beentje 1994), a comprehensive guide for identifying woody plants in Kenya. We also extensively sampled certain other plant groups, such as the herbaceous Cucurbitaceae and Vitaceae, as well as the parasitic Loranthaceae (mistletoes). Additionally, we included representatives from specific plant families, like Asteraceae and Acanthaceae, which are consumed by different fruit fly groups, some of which feed on flower parts while others consume both flowers and fruits.

Key Features of the Platform

1. Plants and fruits with insects Users can choose specific species to get information about their descriptions, taxonomic and geographic features, fruit and plant images, insect taxa reared from the fruit, and insect images where possible. The plant names and authors largely match those found in The African Flowering Plant Database. (http://www.ville-ge.ch/cjb/bd/africa/index.php).
2. An advanced plant search, based on characters of both the fruit and associated leafy specimen, will enable users to identify fruiting woody and herbaceous plants. Double-clicking on a some of the complex terms (fruit shape, fruit type) in the key will bring up its definition in the glossary. Photographic images illustrating a term are accessed by clicking on the “images” button to the right of each term definition.
3. Insects reared from collected fruits may also be browsed. Insects are categorized by order (Diptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, and Hymenoptera). Choosing an insect family name (or genus name for Tephritidae and subfamily name for ichneumonoid wasps) within an order generates a list of insect species. Clicking on a specific species lists the plant species from which the insect was reared. Images of the selected insect species, as available, are displayed. The geographic locations where we collected fruits producing the insect species are also mentioned.
4. Phylogeny of Plants and Insects Barcodes. In this feature, users can explore the phylogeny of insects and plants based on their barcodes. The phylogeny is organized by family. The phylogeny tree displayed is based on maturase K (matK) for plants and Cytochrome Oxidase subunit I (COI) for insects. Upon clicking the species, users can navigate to the morhology page of the species, or navigate to external molecular databases for the selected species. Due to the fact that the biocollections were not sent for bacoding, we downloaded the sequnces from Life Systems Database (BOLD) using IDs that successfully matched both identified specimens and contained corresponding species names in the records.
5. An illustrated glossary of botanical terms. This page can be referenced when using the advanced plant serach page to access definitions and images of plant structures and features. Double Clicking on a term related fruit type, fruit shape, leaf type, leaf shape and leaf arrangement with their definitions in the glossary. Photographs related to the terms can be viewed by clicking the "images" button next to each definition. Some obvious terms do not have illustrations. A comprehensive glossary is accessible in alphabetical order, along with category-specific glossaries (e.g., terms related to leaf margin characteristics, fruit shapes, etc.).