Effectiveness of GF-120 NF Naturalyte Fruit Fly Bait Spray against Different Ages of Melon Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) Females When Applied to Border Crops of Various Widths

GF-120 NF Naturalyte Fruit Fly Bait was evaluated for its effectiveness to prevent melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett), females of various ages from ovipositing in cucumber patches with border crops of different widths. Cohorts of color-marked, protein-fed females, eclosed after 1, 2, or 4 weeks, were released from sites outside sorghum, (Sudax bicolor x S. bicolor var. sudanense) borders 1, 2, or 4 rows deep (30, 90, and 135 cm in width, respectively). Capture rates of female B. cucurbitae were higher for 2- and 4-week-old than for 1-week-old females. Borders sprayed with GF-120 NF Naturalyte Fruit Fly Bait were effective at preventing released sexually- mature 4-wk-old females from reaching the cucumber patches only when in association with the widest border (135 cm) treatment. Our findings suggest that for maximum effectiveness against host-seeking female B. cucurbitae, GF-120 NF Naturalyte Fruit Fly Bait should be applied to broader swaths of sorghum planted as a border crop

Behavioral evidence for host races in Rhagoletis pomonella flies

One of the most controversial putative cases of host race formation in insects is that of the apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae). A principal cause of the controversy is lack of relevant data. In laboratory and field enclosure experiments, we compared the host acceptance behavior of sympatric populations of flies originating from naturally infested hawthorn (the native host) and apple (an introduced host) in Amherst, Massachusetts or East Lansing, Michigan. In general, hawthorn fruit were accepted for ovipositional attempts nearly equally by apple and hawthorn origin females, whereas apples were accepted much more often by apple than hawthorn origin females. Similarly, males of apple and hawthorn origin exhibited about equal duration of residence on hawthorn fruits as sites at which to acquire potential mates, while males of apple origin tended to reside substantially longer than males of hawthorn origin on apples. Irrespective of fly origin, both sexes always responded more positively to hawthorn fruit than to apples. Because all flies assayed were naive (ruling out effects of prior host experience of adults) and because tests revealed no influence of pre-imaginal fruit exposure on pattern of host fruit acceptance by females, the combined evidence suggests the phenotypic differences we observed in host response pattern between hawthorn and apple origin flies may have an underlying genetic basis. Further tests showed that while larval progeny of flies of each origin survived better in naturally growing hawthorn fruit than in naturally growing apples, there was no differential effect of fly origin on larval survival ability in either host. We discuss our findings in relation to restriction in gene flow between sympatric populations of R. pomonella and in relation to current models of host shifts in insects.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/47773/1/442_2004_Article_BF00379612.pd

Foraging Behavior of Laboratory Cultured Mediterranean Fruit Flies on Field-Caged Host Trees

We examined the intra-tree foraging behavior of mature, individually-released, laboratory-cultured (for more than 300 generations) Mediterranean fruit fly females, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), on field-caged potted host trees bearing different densities or qualities of host fruit (kumquats) and compared 27 behavioral trails with those of wild origin females examined earlier under the same conditions. Responses of the lab-cultured females were generally qualitatively similar to but quantitatively different from responses of the wild females

Influence of Experience on Acceptance of Artificial Oviposition Substrates in Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann)

Naive, non-irradiated, laboratory-reared Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) females from a colony in culture for more than 300 generations had a much greater propensity than naive wild-origin C. capitata females to attempt opposition in 100 mm diameter hollow pre-punctured plastic yellow spheres used in collecting C. capitata eggs. Ovipositional experience of lab-cultured females for 3 days with host fruit caused a reduction in propensity to bore into the spheres. Nonetheless, this propensity remained greater than that of naive or fruit-experienced wild-origin females. Our findings therefore suggest consideration of the nature of prior ovipositional experience of C. capitata when using artificial egg-collecting devices

Resource Assessment by Adult and Larval Codling Moths

Volume: 90Start Page: 258End Page: 26

Influence of Previous Experience with Host Plant Foliage on Behavior of Mediterranean Fruit Fly Females

Consistent with the findings of a previous study, foliage-naive gravid females of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann), when released onto the foliage of non-fruiting host plants in a Held cage, spent more time on the foliage of citrus than of tomato plants of comparable size. We found here that 3 days of previous experience with the foliage of citrus or tomato plants did not detectably alter the nature of this response pattern. This suggests that prior experience of medfly females with plant foliage (in contrast to prior experience with plant fruit) is probably of negligible biological significance. We also found that the response pattern of medfly females of a strain cultured in the laboratory for more than 300 generations was qualitatively similar to but quantitatively different from the response pattern of wild medflies