Evaluation of field dispersal and survival capacity of the genetic sexing strain Tapachula-7 of Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae)
Keywords:
sterile insect technique, aerial release, longevityAbstract
The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an ecologically oriented strategy for pest control and a very important tool for establishing low pest prevalence and/or areas free of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae). This technique involves releasing highly competitive sterile adults into an area with the aim to induce sterility in the wild population. Because genetic sexing strains are an economical and efficient improvement for SIT, the Moscafrut Program in Mexico developed the Tapachula-7 (Tap-7) strain of Anastrepha ludens (Loew) from which the female flies emerge from black pupae and can be separated mechanically allowing release of predominantly male flies. This study compared the field dispersal and survival of Tap-7 adult males with those of standard mass-reared adult males (SMR strain) after irradiation, packaging, and an aerial release of chilled adults. The Tap-7 strain exhibited a statistically larger dispersal pattern and slightly lower, although not statistically significant, survival compared with the SMR strain. These results show that both strains should perform similarly in the field and suggest that the Tap-7 strain could replace the standard one for field release of sterile flies against A. ludens wild populations in the near future, reducing costs in the use of the SIT.
Resumen
La Técnica del Insecto Estéril (TIE) es una estrategia para el control de plagas orientada ecológicamente, y una herramienta importante para el establecimiento de áreas libres y/o de baja prevalencia de moscas de la fruta (Diptera: Tephritidae). Esta técnica implica la liberación de adultos estériles altamente competitivos con el objetivo de inducir esterilidad en una población silvestre. Debido a que las cepas sexadas genéticamente representan una mayor eficiencia y economía para la TIE, el Programa Moscafrut en México desarrolló la cepa Tapachula 7 (Tap-7) de Anastrepha ludens (Loew), en la cual las hembras emergen de pupas negras y se pueden separar mecánicamente para liberar predominantemente machos. En este estudio se comparó la dispersión en campo y la sobrevivencia de machos Tap-7 con machos de la cepa estándar criados masivamente (SMR), después de la irradiación, empaque y liberación aérea utilizando la técnica del adulto frio. La cepa Tap-7 exhibió un patrón de dispersión mayor y una sobrevivencia ligeramente inferior en comparación con la cepa estándar, aunque no se encontraron diferencias estadísticas entre ambas cepas. Estos resultados muestran que ambas cepas pueden desempeñarse similarmente en el campo, y sugieren que la cepa Tap-7 podría sustituir en un futuro próximo a la cepa estándar en las liberaciones de insectos estériles contra poblaciones silvestres de A. ludens, reduciendo costos en la aplicación de la TIE.
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