Effect of Rainfall and Soil Moisture on Survival of Adults and Immature Stages of <I>Anastrepha ludens</I> and <I>A. obliqua</I> (Diptera: Tephritidae) Under Semi-field Condition
Abstract
In this work we report the effect of rainfall on survival of pupae and adults of Anastrepha ludens (Loew) and A. obliqua (Macquart) under semi-field conditions. The influence of 2 soil textures and soil moisture on depth of pupation and pupal survival of both species was studied. There was no statistical difference on depth of pupation between larvae of A. ludens and A. obliqua in both types of soils. Adult emergence of A. ludens was higher than A. obliqua from soils with low moisture, while no significant difference was observed in soils at field capacity and saturation point. In the farm “Alianza” locality (760 masl, 1219 mm of rainfall), adult emergence decreased in direct relation to rainfall (r = 0.956 for A. ludens; r = 0.952 for A. obliqua), but this was not observed in Metapa de Dominguez (120 masl, 1114 mm of rainfall). Rainfall did not have any significant effect on adult mortality (r = 0.038 for A. ludens; r = 0.051 for A. obliqua), even under intense precipitation (120-160 mm/day), which indicates that fruit fly adults are able to find adequate refuge during heavy rain. These results are evidence that rainfall does not exert a significant impact on emergence and survival of adults of these species, and that the yearly fluctuations of their populations are mainly correlated to other factors such as host fruiting phenology.View this article in BioOne
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