Flowerhead
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Tephritis
Tephritis is a large genus of true fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) comprising approximately 170 described species, making it the sixth largest genus in the family. Species occur across diverse climate zones from hot semidesert to tundra, with the greatest diversity in the Palearctic region. Most species are associated with Asteraceae plants, inhabiting inflorescences of several tribes including Cardueae, Cichorieae, Anthemideae, Inuleae, and Senecioneae. Some species cause gall formation on host plants. The genus has been extensively studied for host-race formation and incipient speciation, particularly in T. conura and T. bardanae, which show genetic and morphological differentiation correlated with host-plant use.