Consistency in courtship pattern among populations of Medfly (Diptera: Tephritidae): comparisons among wild strains and strains mass reared for SIT Operations
Abstract
The objective of the study was to compare courtship behavior of various wild and mass reared medfly strains, in order to document the degree of diversity in courtship behavior among medfly populations and to assess its implications for strategy of application of the Sterile Insect Technique. Recordings of medfly courtship behavior were collected from several locations world-wide using a standard protocol. Qualitative and quantitative analysis of the collected behavioral materials was conducted. No major differences were found among the strains both in male and female behavioral repertoire, which indicates general lack of behavioral incompatibility among the strains studied. However, the analysis revealed several qualitative and quantitative differences in courtship details among locations. The females from Madeira strain were more “choosy” then those from other strains, rejecting male courtship most frequently in spite of the fact that the males from this strain displayed their courtship activities in the most expressed manner. It has been suggested, therefore, that development of an efficient strain for world-wide application shall be based on the most competitive strains (such as Madeira strain), and only individuals with the most pronounced pattern of male courtship should be selected as founders.View this article in BioOne
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright for any article published in Florida Entomologist is held by the author(s) of the article. Florida Entomologist is an open access journal. Florida Entomologist follows terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License (cc by-nc). By submitting and publishing articles in Florida Entomologist, authors grant the FOJ and Florida Entomologist's host institutions permission to make the article available through Internet posting and electronic dissemination, and to otherwise archive the information contained both electronically and in a hard printed version. When used, information and images obtained from articles must be referenced and cited appropriately. Articles may be reproduced for personal, educational, or archival purposes, or any non-commercial use. Permission should be sought from the author(s) for multiple, non-commercial reproduction. Written permission from the author(s) is required for any commercial reproduction.
