The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the major fruit crop pests in Morocco and worldwide. A successful and optimized mass rearing of this pest is a key component of several integrated pest management strategies. In this context, colonies of the Mediterranean fruit fly, C. capitata from field-collected pupae from infested argan fruits were established, maintained and studied in laboratory for 21 successive generations. Life history and demographic parameters were monitored over 14 generations. Afterward, the 20th and 21th generation were studied to investigate optimal pupal and eggs production respectively. Therefore, different eggs volumes varying from 0,25 to 3 ml were seeded on 1 kg larval diet and adult cages were populated with different pupae densities from 2000 to 20000. Our study highlights the potential adaptability of the Mediterranean fruit fly to laboratory conditions. In fact, from generation 7 onward all eggs are laid through the cages mesh instead of oviposition device. Egg production, pupal production, eggs eclosion rate, pupae emergence rate and larval development period was improved over different generations. Our data recommends the use of 1,25 to 1,5 ml of eggs per 1 kg diet and 16000 pupae per cage to optimize pupal and eggs production. Further experiments, especially regarding fitness, mating competitiveness and genetic variation, are required to investigate the stability of populations after additional captivity phases in laboratory
