Mass rearing and sterile insect releases for the control of A nastrepha spp. pests in Mexico – a review

The sterile insect technique (SIT) has been widely used to suppress several fruit fly species. In southern Brazil, millions of sterile flies of the South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann (Dipetra: Tephritidae), will be produced in a mass‐rearing facility called MOSCASUL to suppress wild populations from commercial apple orchards. In spite of standard rearing conditions, the quality of pupal batches can be inconsistent due to various factors. The quantification of poor quality material (e.g. empty pupae, dead pupae or larvae) is necessary to track down rearing issues, and pupal samples must be taken randomly and evaluated individually. To speed up the inspection of pupal samples by replacing the manual testing with the mechanized one, this study assessed a multispectral imaging (MSI) system to distinguish the variations in quality of A. fraterculus pupae and to quantify the variations based on reflectance patterns. Image acquisition and analyses were performed by the VideometerLab4 system on 7‐d‐old pupae by using 19 wavelengths ranging from 375 to 970 nm. The image representing the near infrared wavelength of 880 nm clearly distinguished among high‐quality pupae and the other four classes (i.e. low‐quality pupae, empty pupae, dead pupae and larvae). The blind validation test indicated that the MSI system can classify the fruit fly pupae with high accuracy. Therefore, MSI‐based classification of A. fraterculus pupae can be used for future pupal quality assessments of fruit flies in mass‐rearing facilities.

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multispectral imaging for quality control of laboratory‐reared Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) pupae

Mastrangelo

Silva

Mascarin

et al. 2019

“…The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environmental‐friendly method, which is part of area‐wide integrated pest management (AW‐IPM) strategies for suppression, containment, prevention and eradication of pest species of Tephritidae worldwide (Hendrichs, Vreysen, Enkerlin, & Cayol, ; Klassen, ; Suckling et al, ). In Mexico, the release of sterile flies of Anastrepha ludens Loew, Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) and Ceratitis capitata Wiedemann over fruit‐growing areas is recognized as a successful suppression method for wild populations of fruit flies (Enkerlin et al, ; Gutiérrez, ; Orozco‐Davila et al, ). One of the most critical suppression activities using the SIT is that one against A. ludens , the Mexican fruit fly, across several citrus‐growing areas in Mexico (Gutiérrez, ; Reyes, Santiago, & Hernández, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mapping the spatial variability of the field distribution of sterile Anastrepha ludens over a release area

Vanoye‐Eligio

Vázquez‐Sauceda

Rocandio‐Rodríguez

et al. 2019

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environmental‐friendly method used against Anastrepha ludens Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae) populations. This study aimed to perform an analysis of the spatial variability of the field distribution of sterile A. ludens using a geostatistical approach along with Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Field data on captures of sterile A. ludens during a Valencia orange season over a release area were analysed using spherical, exponential and Gaussian variograms. Such variograms were evaluated by criteria such as the mean absolute error, average standard error, root mean square error and the coefficient of determination. Results revealed a spatially structured distribution of sterile A. ludens across the release area. Interpolated models by Ordinary Kriging technique exhibited continuous surfaces evidencing spatial heterogeneity of the distribution of flies. Such a result evidenced that the spatial dynamics of flies significantly varied despite the planned uniform coverage of the release. The GIS led to integrating spatial information of the spatial dynamics through one single model. The release activity should be improved westward of the studied area, as the final model suggested that the ratio sterile: wild is lower than that in the east. This study provides insights into the spatial analysis of the distribution of sterile flies further than one single geographical point. Moreover, it highlights geostatistical techniques and GIS as useful tools for the assessment of the impact and quality of the release activity over fruit‐growing areas subjected to an area‐wide integrated pest management approach.

“…Successful application of sterile insect technique (SIT) as part of a sustainable area‐wide approach to management of fruit flies such as Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (“Q‐fly”), Australia’s most economically damaging insect pest of horticulture (Clarke, Powell, Weldon, & Taylor, ; Dominiak, Westcott, & Barchia, ; Sutherst, Collyer, & Yonow, ), requires many millions of high‐quality sterile insects to be produced each week in a cost‐effective mass‐rearing programme (Dyck, Hendrichs, & Robinson, ; Enkerlin, ; Hendrichs, Franz, & Rendon, ; Knipling, ; Vreysen, Barclay, & Hendrichs, ). Effective and economical larval diets are an essential element of fruit fly mass‐rearing programmes (Orozco‐Dávila et al., ; Parker, ; Steiner & Mitchell, ; Vargas, ) and have been an important target for research aimed at increasing overall efficacy of SIT programmes (Chang, ; Hernández, Rivera, & Artiaga‐López, ; Pascacio‐Villafán, Birke, Williams, & Aluja, ; Pascacio‐Villafán, Williams, Sivinski, Birke, & Aluja, ; Tanaka, Steiner, Ohinata, & Okamoto, ). Although liquid diets have proven to be suitable for small‐scale rearing of some fruit fly species, they require sponge cloth/plastic mesh to support the developing larvae (Chang, ) which raise doubts about the practical application of liquid diets for large‐scale rearing for SIT.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of yeasts in gel larval diet for Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni

Moadeli

Mainali

Ponton

et al. 2018

Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (“Q‐fly”), is Australia’s most economically important insect pest of horticultural and commercial crops especially in the eastern regions. The sterile insect technique (SIT) has been adopted as an environmentally benign and sustainable approach for management of Q‐fly outbreaks. High‐performance larval diets are required to produce the millions of flies needed each week for SIT. Yeast products contribute amino acids (protein) to fruit fly larval diets, as well as carbohydrate, fat and micronutrients, but there can be substantial variation in the nutritional composition and suitability of yeast products for use in larval diets. Gel larval diets have recently been developed for large‐scale rearing of Q‐fly for SIT, and composition of these diets requires optimization for both performance and cost, including choice of yeast products. We assessed performance of Q‐flies reared on gel larval diets that contained debittered brewer’s yeast (Lallemand LBI2240), hydrolysed yeast (Lallemand FNILS65), inactivated brewer’s yeast (Lallemand LBI2250) and inactivated torula yeast (Lallemand 2160‐50), including blends. Q‐flies performed poorly when reared on diets containing only or mostly hydrolysed yeast in terms of pupal number, pupal weight and percentage of fliers. Performance was also poor on diets containing high proportions of torula yeast. Overall, debittered brewer’s yeast is recommended as the best option for Q‐fly gel larval diet, as it is cheap, readily available, and produces flies with good performance in quality control assays. Inactivated brewer’s yeast produced flies of comparable quality with only a modest increase in cost and would also serve as an effective alternative.