Adult diet of a tephritid fruit fly does not compensate for impact of a poor larval diet on stress resistance

Abstract

Adult holometabolous insects may derive metabolic resources from either larval or adult feeding, but little is known of whether adult diets can compensate for deficiencies in the larval diet in terms of stress resistance. We investigated how stress resistance is affected and compensated for by diet across life stages in the marula fruit fly Ceratitis cosyra (Diptera: Tephritidae). Larvae were fed diets containing either 8% torula yeast, the standard diet used to rear this species, or 1% yeast (low protein content similar to known host fruit). At emergence, adults from each larval diet were tested for initial mass, water content, body composition, and desiccation and starvation resistance or they were allocated to one of two adult diet treatments: sucrose only, or sucrose and yeast hydrolysate. The same assays were then repeated after 10 days of adult feeding. Development on a low protein larval diet led to lower body mass and improved desiccation and starvation resistance in newly emerged adults, even though adults from the high protein larval diet had the highest water content. Adult feeding decreased desiccation or starvation resistance, regardless of the diet provided. Irrespective of larval diet history, newly emerged, unfed adults had significantly higher dehydration tolerance than those that were fed. Lipid reserves played a role in starvation resistance. There was no evidence for metabolic water from stored nutrients extending desiccation resistance. Our findings show the possibility of a nutrient-poor larval environment leading to correlated improvement in adult performance, at least in the short term. RESULTS Choice of larval dietsNo pupae were obtained from the 0% torula yeast larval diet (Table 1). There was a significant difference between the number of pupae obtained from the remaining three larval diets (F 3,16 =265.42, P< 0.0001). The number of pupae from the 4% and 8% torula yeast larval diets was significantly higher than from the 1% torula yeast diet. Larval diet also had a significant effect on adult emergence 4

Development of Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on Poultry Litter-Based Diets: Effect on Chemical Composition of Larvae

“…The development of T. molitor in the poultry litter was similar to the control diet that is considered efficient for rearing this insect, according to larva-adult viability, number of F 1 generation larvae, and the instantaneous population growth rate. According to Grangeteau et al (2018) and Weldon et al (2019) , the quality of the offered diet in the larval phases influences the reproductive performance of adults. This can be evidenced by the path analysis, where DM had a direct effect on the number of adults since the diet with the poultry litter had a higher proportion of solid constituents.…”

Area-Wide Management of Fruit Fly Pests

“…There are strong effects of age, sex, and their interaction that may relate to differences in life history or senescence. Desiccation resistance of a laboratory-adapted strain of C. cosyra tested on the day of adult emergence was higher than when they were 10 days old (Weldon et al 2019). In a laboratory-adapted strain of B. tryoni, desiccation resistance of adults declined in a continuous and regular manner over the first 20 days after adult eclosion (Weldon and Taylor 2010;Weldon et al 2013).…”

Synergistic effects of temperature and plant quality, on development time, size and lipid in Eccritotarsus eichhorniae

“…Smaller individuals may be able to withstand environmental stress because they require less energy to sustain their biological functions. Weldon et al (2019) showed that smaller individuals of the marula fruit fly Ceratitis cosyra (Diptera: Tephritidae) had higher desiccation and starvation resistance than bigger ones.…”