Pre‐release diet effect on field survival and dispersal of Anastrepha ludens and Anastrepha obliqua (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

The effect of pre‐release diets on starvation resistance, field survival and dispersal of sterile Anastrepha ludens and Anastrepha obliqua fruit flies was investigated. Protein‐enriched diets resulted in reduced longevity under laboratory and field conditions. Flies exposed to a combination of sugar and fresh mango fruit pulp showed greater longevity and field survival. Release–recapture experiments showed that this mango plus sugar diet resulted in the greatest trap capture and the longest life expectancy when compared with the other treatments. Per cent recapture ranged from 0.24% to 17.50%. More females than males were recaptured. Spatial distribution was not affected by diet treatment, sex or replicate, but was affected by environmental conditions, such as vegetation cover or shade in the case of A. ludens or prevalent winds in the case of A. obliqua. Our results confirm the trade‐offs between better mating performance and reduced survival produced by protein‐rich diets and suggest fresh mango fruits, their products or derivates as an alternative to be developed to overcome this problem for sterile insect technique programmes.

Genetic Consequences of Domestication and Mass Rearing of Pest Fruit Fly <I>Bactrocera tryoni</I> (Diptera: Tephritidae)

“…However, Barry et al (2007) reported that the ability of the sterile flies to locate and feed on protein and carbohydrate sources in the field may be more important for survival than the type of food supplied before the release. Survival times in the field after release for A. ludens have been reported to be 4.7 d (Utges et al 2011) and 5.7 d (Hernández et al 2007), which are within the range reported in this study for both strains. For C. capitata, Gavriel et al (2012) reported that released adults rarely survived more than 5 d. These survival times are the minimum amount of time needed for the sterile males to reach sexual maturity, and the ability of sterile flies to survive until sexual maturity under field conditions is important for the successful use of the SIT (Thomas & LoeraGallardo 1998;Gómez-Cendra et al 2007).…”

Evaluation of Field Dispersal and Survival Capacity of the Genetic Sexing Strain Tapachula-7 ofAnastrepha ludens(Diptera: Tephritidae)

“…Crowded conditions, however, can cause dispersal movements to farther distances (Froerer et al 2010). The vegetation density at the release site is another factor that may influence the dispersal of adult flies as was shown for A. ludens by Utges et al (2011).…”

“…Life span of sterile males can be improved by providing suitable diet after emergence. Sterile adults of A. ludens and A. obliqua fed prior to release with a combination of sugar and fresh mango fruit pulp showed longer field survival than those fed with protein-enriched diets (Utges et al 2011). However, Barry et al (2007) reported that the ability of the sterile flies to locate and feed on protein and carbohydrate sources in the field may be more important for survival than the type of food supplied before the release.…”

Directional selection to improve the sterile insect technique: Survival and sexual performance of desiccation resistant Anastrepha ludens strains

“…The large scale and sustained application of SIT has been a key factor to maintain and expand the pest free areas (Liedo, ), and importantly, their also had gathered data of how SIT efficiency could be enhanced. While male life expectancy in the laboratory has been observed between 39 and 130 days (Carey et al., , ; Liedo, Carey, Celedonio, & Guillen, ; Tejeda et al., ), in field evaluations, where variable environmental conditions prevails, life expectancy oscillate around 2–10 days (Flores et al., ; Hernández, Orozco, Breceda, & Domínguez, ; Thomas & Loera‐Gallardo, ; Utgés, Vilardi, Oropeza, Toledo, & Liedo, ). The contrasting male life expectancies between laboratory and field indicate the possibility that sterile males are exposed to stress once released in the field.…”