Influence of Methoprene on the Age-Related Mating Propensity of Males of the Oriental Fruit Fly and the Mediterranean Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The application of juvenile hormone (or chemical analogs, such as methoprene) to newly emerged adult male fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) represents a promising method to improve the efficiency of the Sterile Insect Technique against economically important species. This procedure has been shown t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Florida entomologist 2009-06, Vol.92 (2), p.193-198
Main Authors: Shelly, Todd E, Nishimoto, Jon I, Edu, James
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult insects
age
Age groups
Agricultural pests
Bactrocera dorsalis
Ceratitis capitata
Control
Diptera
Female animals
Fruit flies
Health aspects
hormone therapy
Insect behavior
Insect hormones
Insect pests
Insect sterilization
Juvenile hormones
Male animals
males
mass rearing
Mating behavior
Methods
Methoprene
Physiological aspects
Research Papers
Sexual behavior
sexual maturation
sexual maturity
Sterile Insect Technique
strains
Tephritidae
topical application
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Summary:The application of juvenile hormone (or chemical analogs, such as methoprene) to newly emerged adult male fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) represents a promising method to improve the efficiency of the Sterile Insect Technique against economically important species. This procedure has been shown to accelerate male sexual maturity in species with a long pre-copulatory period, and could allow for release of sterile males at younger ages and a greater release rate of sterile males overall. Topical application of methoprene has been shown to enhance male mating competitiveness. The present study investigated the effect of methoprene on maturation speed in males of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (a ‘slow’ maturing species) and the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (a ‘fast’ maturing species). For both species, newly emerged males were treated with acetone containing methoprene (treated) or acetone alone (control). The mating propensity of males was then monitored in non-competitive environments with mature females. Contrary to other studies, we found no evidence that methoprene accelerated male sexual activity in either a wild-like or mass-reared strain of B. dorsalis or a mass-reared (genetic sexing strain) of C. capitata. Possible explanations for these results are discussed.
ISSN:0015-4040
1938-5102
DOI:10.1653/024.092.0201