The effect of post‐teneral diets on the mating performance, pheromone production and longevity of sterile Anastrepha ludens and Anastrepha obliqua fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) was investigated. Enriched pre‐release diets improved male mating performance. Wild and sterile males fed on mango and orange fruits achieved the greatest copulatory success, followed by those fed on a 3 : 1 sugar : yeast (SY) diet. Males fed only on a sugar diet achieved the lowest number of matings. The mean numbers of copulas achieved by wild males were significantly higher than those by sterile males fed on a sugar‐only diet, while there were no significant differences between wild males and sterile males fed on yeast diets. There was a trend of reduced mean number of copulas as the proportion of yeast was reduced in the diet, but differences were not significant. Pre‐release diets had a significant effect on pheromone production. Males fed on a 3 : 1 SY diet produced the greatest amount of the three main pheromone components in A. ludens males and two major components in A. obliqua males, followed by males fed on fruits or pasteurized fruit juice. Males fed on a sugar only diet produced the lowest amounts. The longevity response to post‐teneral diets was complex. The most yeast‐rich diet and the poorest diet (sugar only) resulted in the lowest life expectancies. Flies fed on 24 : 1 SY diets showed the highest life expectancies for both males and females of the two species. Considering the tradeoffs between mating performance and longevity, the 24 : 1 SY diet would be recommended for programmes integrating the sterile insect technique, but the effects of these diets on field survival and dispersal still need to be investigated.

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Complex genitalia occur in many arthropods and in some species extreme female morphologies lead to serious mechanical difficulties for males. Tephritid flies offer examples of such complex genitalia. Because of their economic importance and the extensive use of sterile male releases for tephritid control in Texas and Mexico, studies have been done on various aspects of their basic reproductive biology, but the process of intromission has received little attention. The distiphallus of the male of Anastrepha ludens is complex. One membranous sac on the distiphallus is capable of rhythmic cycles of inflation and deflation. inflations of the sac near the base of the distiphallus probably help propel the aedeagus deeper into the female along with stiffening of the basiphallus and may drive the genital rod (which does not transfer sperm) into the ventral receptacle. We were unable to establish an association between some of the behaviours displayed by males during mating and intromission process. Rev. Biol. Trop. 59 (1): 291-297. Epub 2011 March 01.