Remating behavior in Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) females is affected by male juvenile hormone analog treatment but not by male sterilization

Abstract

The sterile insect technique (SIT) has been proposed as an area-wide method to control the South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann). This technique requires sterilization, a procedure that affects, along with other factors, the ability of males to modulate female sexual receptivity after copulation. Numerous pre-release treatments have been proposed to counteract the detrimental effects of irradiation, rearing and handling and increase SIT effectiveness. These include treating newly emerged males with a juvenile hormone mimic (methoprene) or supplying protein to the male's diet to accelerate sexual maturation prior to release. Here, we examine how male irradiation, methoprene treatment and protein intake affect remating behavior and the amount of sperm stored in inseminated females. In field cage experiments, we found that irradiated laboratory males were equally able to modulate female remating behavior as fertile wild males. However, females mated with 6-day-old, methoprene-treated males remated more and sooner than females mated with naturally matured males, either sterile or wild. Protein intake by males was not sufficient to overcome reduced ability of methoprene-treated males to induce refractory periods in females as lengthy as those induced by wild and naturally matured males. The amount of sperm stored by females was not affected by male irradiation, methoprene treatment or protein intake. This finding revealed that factors in addition to sperm volume intervene in regulating female receptivity after copulation. Implications for SIT are discussed.

Radiation effects on Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) reproductive behaviour

“…The effects of male sterility on female remating vary among fruit fly species. Sterile males of A. serpentina and C. capitata are less likely to inhibit female remating (Gavriel et al., ; Landeta‐Escamilla et al., ), while no difference was found for A. fraterculus , Anastrepha ludens (Loew, 1873), B. cucurbitae and B. tryoni (Abraham et al., , ; Arredondo, Tejeda, Ruiz, Meza, & Pérez‐Staples, ; Haq et al., ; Radhakrishnan et al., ).…”

Sexual inhibition of female Queensland fruit flies mated by males treated with raspberry ketone supplements as immature adults

“…While Gomez‐Simuta, Diaz‐Fleischer, Arredondo, Díaz‐Santiz, and Pérez‐Staples () found that female Mexican fruit flies mated by young methoprene‐treated males exhibited normal levels of sexual inhibition, Abraham et al. () found that females of South American fruit fly that mated with 6‐day‐old methoprene‐treated males, the age at which elevated mating propensity and competitiveness is expressed (Liendo et al., ; Segura et al., , ) remated more often and sooner than females mated with mature males that had not received methoprene treatment. These results suggest a decoupling of sexual maturation in terms of mating behaviour and reproductive development in terms of underlying morphology and physiology.…”

Tapachula-7, a New Genetic Sexing Strain of the Mexican Fruit Fly (Diptera: Tephritidae): Sexual Compatibility and Competitiveness

“…For example, in the tephritids Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) and Anastrepha serpentina (Wiedemann), sterile males are less effective in inhibiting females from remating. In contrast, in Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann), no differences were found in the sexual refractory period (time between 1 mating and the next) of wild females that had copulated with sterile or wild males (Gavriel et al 2009;Abraham et al 2013;Landeta-Escamilla et al 2016). Similarly, sterile males were effective at inhibiting B. tryoni females and standard bisexual strain Anastrepha ludens (Loew) females (Radhakrishna et al 2009;Abraham et al 2014).…”