Aggression in Tephritidae Flies: Where, When, Why? Future Directions for Research in Integrated Pest Management

Abstract

True fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) include over 4000 species, many of which constitute enormous threats to fruit and vegetable production worldwide. A number of Tephritidae are lekking species, forming aggregations in which males fight to defend a small territory where they court females and mate. Male-male contests also occur in non-lekking species, characterized by resource defense polygyny. Tephritidae females display agonistic behavior to maintain single oviposition sites and reduce larval competition for food. Here, how, where, when and why aggressive interactions occur in Tephritidae flies is reviewed. A number of neglected issues deserving further research are highlighted, with a special focus on diel periodicity of aggression, cues evoking aggressive behavior, the role of previous experience on fighting success and the evolution of behavioral lateralization of aggressive displays. In the final section, future directions to exploit this knowledge in Integrated Pest Management, with particular emphasis on enhancement of Sterile Insect Technique and interspecific competitive displacement in the field are suggested.

Current knowledge of the species complex Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera, Tephritidae) in Brazil

“…Calling males aggregate in the top of host and non-host trees from the first hour after dawn until mid-morning, forming groups in which males fight to defend a small territory where they court females and mate (Segura et al 2007, Benelli et al 2014b). In Anastrepha fraterculus male aggressions are not frequent and/or outcomes are not crucial for mating success (Segura et al 2007, Benelli 2015a, 2015b). The courtship behavior exhibited by Anastrepha fraterculus lekking males is complex and composed of visual, acoustical, and chemical displays (Mankin et al 1996, Segura et al 2007, Gomez Cendra et al 2011).…”

Population-level lateralized aggressive and courtship displays make better fighters not lovers: evidence from a fly

“…B. oleae is a lekking species, forming aggregations in which males fight to defend a small territory (usually an olive leaf) where they court females and mate. Females display aggressive behavior to maintain single oviposition sites and reduce larval competition for food (Benelli et al, 2014a,b,b;Benelli, 2015). In both sexes of B. oleae, aggressive interactions are highly ritualized and composed of various displays, including wing waving, chasing, pouncing, and boxing (Benelli, 2014).…”

Motion-triggered defensive display in a tephritid fly

“…In A. ludens, there is a lek mating system where courting males guard non-resource territories and wait for the approach of females. Aggression between males is more likely at this stage; whereas between females aggression may be more likely over oviposition locations (Benelli 2015). From the fly point of view, the display seems to have various functions.…”

“…When displaying, flies may collect qualitatively different visual information during successive stages of their display sequence. Furthermore, since displays are usually linked to aggression in various species of Tephritidae (Benelli 2015), they may contain an additional function of deterrence. In this scenario, the trigger for acquisition of information is the movement of the opposing organism.…”

“…occur with both wings simultaneously or sequentially (Headrick and Goeden 1994). This display is common in both male and female flies and has been observed during conspecific interactions (Briceno et al 1999;Headrick and Goeden 1994;Benelli 2013Benelli , 2015 Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10164-015-0442-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.…”