Fernando Murúa

Offspring Production in Response to Host Exposure Times in Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), Reared on the Genetic Sexing Strain Vienna 8 of Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae)

ABSTRACT The objective of the present study was to assess the effect of different times of exposure to the host on parasitoid emergence rate, parasitoid progeny sex ratio, and on host mortality, as a step toward the development of an efficient mass-rearing system for the braconid Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) on larvae of the VIENNA 8 Temperature Sensitive Lethal Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) strain. The role of host-rearing substrate cues in stimulating the host-searching behavior of parasitoid females was also evaluated. Three exposure times (40, 60, and 120 min) were tested. One hundred 7 d-old host larvae were exposed to 25 female parasitoids per treatment. Larvae mixed with wheat-based rearing medium and larvae without medium were used in each test. A second set of treatments with the same method described above was conducted using late third-instars of the C. capitata wild-type strain. These experiments were carried out to assess the quality of the larvae of VIENNA 8 strain in producing D. longicaudata adults by comparing them with the larvae of the wild-type strain. Results indicated that the use of larvae of VIENNA 8 strain on their rearing diet at 40 min exposure time significantly increased overall parasitoid offspring production and decreased the host mortality level. Nevertheless, parasitoid emergence recorded from VIENNA 8 strain was notably lower than that recorded from the wild-type strain. Low parasitoid emergence levels and the prevalence of male-biased progeny recorded in all assays are obstacles to development of a parasitoid mass-rearing system using larvae of VIENNA 8 strain as host. Additional studies focusing on host exposure to parasitoids are needed to verify the effect of host larval quality on the production of D. longicaudata.

An egg-laying device to estimate the induction of sterility in Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) sterile insect technique programmes

Area‐wide environmentally friendly pest control methods such as the sterile insect technique (SIT) are being developed and improved to contribute in managing agricultural, environmental and public health problems. A key aspect to evaluate performance of sterile males is to directly measure sterility induction in the field. Sterility induction has been estimated for tephritid fruit flies by recovering egg from host fruit in the field, the method is, however, impractical, and past efforts to develop artificial egg‐laying devices have not prospered. Here, we evaluated response of wild gravid Ceratitis capitata (Medfly) females to long‐distance fruit‐based chemical attractants, visual and tactile stimuli to develop an artificial egg‐laying device. The device combining the most attractive features was further tested under two deployment schemes. Finally, devices and deployment tactics were used to compare fertility levels between feral Medfly females under conventional management and under SIT. Agar spheres wrapped in plastic film, baited with pressed peach juice and visually enhanced with yellow discs received more egg than other combinations of attractive features. Such devices also received more eggs when deployed on fruitless trees and when placed on the orchard perimeter. The egg hatch in an orchard under conventional management was estimated at 86%, whilst egg hatch in an area under SIT was reduced to 31%. The egg‐laying devices are therefore useful to measure sterility induction and can be further improved by refining long‐distance attraction and deployment schemes.