Effects of diet, ginger root oil, and elevation on the mating competitiveness of male mediterranean fruit flies (Diptera: tephritidae) from a mass-reared, genetic sexing straing in Guatemala

The release of sterile males is a key component of an areawide program to eradicate the Mediterranean fruit ßy, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), from Guatemala and southern Mexico. The objective of our study was to assess the effects of adult diet, exposure to ginger root oil (Zingiber officinale Roscoe), and elevation on the mating competitiveness of the sterile males used in an areawide program. Sterile males were maintained on a protein-sugar (protein-fed) or a sugar-only (protein-deprived) diet and were exposed (for 4 h 1 d before testing) or not exposed to ginger root oil. In Þeld-cage trials conducted at a high (1,500m) and low(700m) site,wemonitored the inßuence of these treatments on the mating success of sterile males in competition with wild males (reared exclusively on the protein-sugar diet andwithout ginger root oil exposure) forwild females. Elevation and ginger root oil exposure had signiÞcant effects, with sterile males having higher mating success at the low-elevation site and ginger root oil-exposed males having greater success than ginger root oil-deprived males at both sites. Diet did not have a signiÞcant overall effect, and its inßuence varied with elevation (dietary protein seemed to provide an advantage at the high-elevation site but not at the low-elevation site). Possible implications of these Þndings for eradication programs against the Mediterranean fruit ßy are discussed.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Shelly, Todd E., Rendón Arana, Pedro Alfonso Doctor autor/a 21216, Hernández Ortiz, Emilio Doctor autor/a 12449, Salgado García, Sergio autor/a 14904, McInnes, Donald autor/a, Villalobos, Ethel autor/a, Liedo Fernández, Pablo Doctor autor/a 67
Format:	Texto biblioteca
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Ceratitis capitata, Control de insectos, Técnica del insecto estéril,
Online Access:	http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.1603/0022-0493-96.4.1132
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