Life history response of female Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata, to periods of host deprivation

Abstract

Female medflies were subjected to four different patterns of host deprivation at each of three levels for a 24‐day period. Treatments ranged from host absence 8 days post‐eclosion to host absence 2 out of 3 days. Survival was recorded daily and egg production was recorded on the days in which hosts were present. The direct effect of host deprivation is to deny females the opportunity to oviposit. This disrupts their reproductive cycle and reduces their overall reproductive effort. Reduced reproductive effort at young ages increases survival (up to 2‐fold) and daily reproduction (up to 8‐fold) at older ages. Therefore, the long term effect of host deprivation is to postpone senescence. The implications of these findings regarding medfly sensescence are discussed in relation to: (i) reduction in population extinction rates during periods of host scarcity and (ii) egging strategies in medfly mass‐rearing. Résumé Modifications apportées à la biologie de Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann privées d'hôtes pendant différentes périodes Les femelles de C. capitata ont été privées d'hôtes suivant 4 modalités pendant 3 durées (33, 50 et 67% de leur vie) par période de 24 heures. Les modalités se répartissaient de la privation pendant 8 jours après l'éclosion jusqu'à 1 jour sur 3. La survie a été notée chaque jour et la ponte pour tous les jours où il y avait des hôtes. L'effect direct de l'absence d'hôte est d'empêcher la femelle de pondre. Ceci interrompt leur cycle de ponte et réduit leur activité reproductrice totale. Un effort reproductif réduit des femelles jeunes augmente la survie (jusqu'à 2 fois) et la ponte quotidienne (jusqu'à 8 fois) chez les femelles plus âgées. Ainsi, l'effet à long terme de la privation d'hôtes est d'ajourner la sénescence. Les implications de ces observations sur la sénescence de C. capitata sont discutées quant à: (1) la réduction des taux d'extinction des populations pendant les périodes de rareté d'hôtes; et: (2) les stratégies d'obtention de pontes dan les élevages de masse de C. capitata.

The cost of reproduction in rosehip flies,Rhagoletis basiola: Eggs are time

“…Carey et al, 1986). An important implicit assumption in these designs is that such deprivation directly causes a reduction in reproduction which leads to increased investment in somatic function.…”

Reproductive potential predicts longevity of female Mediterranean fruitflies

“…A substantial body of theoretical and experimental research on the costs of reproduction (Partridge & Farquhar 1981) and on reproductive determinism (Maynard Smith 1958;Minchella & Loverde 1981;Bell 1984;Bell & Koufopanou 1986;Carey et al 1986) has shown that reproduction can decrease survival and that exhaustion of reproductive capacity plays a role in ageing. Our ¢ndings point to a fundamental link between reproductive dynamics and survival.…”

Selection of artificial hosts for oviposition by wild Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) (Diptera, Tephritidae): influence of adult food and effect of experience

“…Thus, a polyphagous insect with high behavioral adaptability, as A. obliqua, may keep a large number of hosts. Several authors (Carey et al 1986;Prokopy & Reynolds 1998;Díaz-Fleischer & Aluja 2003a, 2003b) and the present study have reported the plasticity of fruit flies concerning their oviposition behavior strategies. In this sense, further investigations on the factors related to this behavior are needed.…”