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

Abstract

Raspberry ketone (RK) dietary supplements accelerate the emergence of sexual behaviour in developing Queensland fruit fly (Q‐fly) males and show promise as a pre‐release supplement for use in sterile insect technique (SIT) programs. However, the value of RK supplements in SIT programs would be greatly reduced if RK‐treated males are ineffective at inducing sexual inhibition in mated females. To test the effectiveness of matings by RK‐treated males, we here investigate the remating propensity of females mated by RK‐treated (1.25% or 5% RK in food) and RK‐untreated (control) males. Tested males received RK supplements mixed in sugar and yeast hydrolysate for 2 days after emerging and then received only sugar. To test for male age‐dependent effects, virgin females were mated to treated and untreated males that were 6, 8, 10, 20 or 30 days old. To test for persistence of sexual inhibition, mated females were tested for remating propensity at 1, 7 or 15 days after their first mating. RK‐treated males did not differ from control males in copula duration, and females mated by RK‐treated males did not differ from those mated by control males in remating propensity, second copula latency or second copula duration. RK‐treated Q‐fly males not only mate at younger ages but also their matings are as effective as those of untreated controls at inducing sexual inhibition in mates.

Raspberry ketone accelerates sexual maturation and improves mating performance of sterile male Queensland fruit fly, Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt)

“…Although, RK treatment did not enhance copula duration of B. tryoni under laboratory conditions, methoprene treatment has been reported previously to accelerate sexual maturation and longer copulations in fertile male B. tryoni . The RK‐treated B. tryoni males not only mate at a younger age but their mating is as effective as those of RK‐denied flies at inducing sexual inhibition in mated females . Also B. tryoni females mated with males that had fed on two compounds structurally similar to RK, i.e.…”

Multi-locus genotyping of stored sperm reveals female remating rates in wild populations of the Queensland fruit fly

“…It is likely that our NSW collection in spring comprised mainly of old female flies of the previous season and that our QLD collection in summer comprised flies of diverse age groups; differences in age structure between NSW and QLD collections might contribute to the detected population differences in remating rates. As in C. capitata ( Costa et al., 2012 ), female Qflies are more likely to remate if their first mate is old ( Adnan et al., 2020a ; Akter and Taylor, 2018 ). Higher levels of polyandry might reflect that male Qflies in the NSW population were old, having overwintered as adults.…”

Effect of Fruit Volatiles from Native Host Plants on the Sexual Performance of Anastrepha fraterculus sp. 1 Males

“…(For a review, see Segura et al [ 8 ].) In the Bactrocera genus, males of some species ingest methyl eugenol or raspberry ketone, two natural compounds found in many plants, including some of their hosts, and this triggers an increase in their sexual displays rate (calling behavior) and their mating success [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 ]. Likewise, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) males increase their calling rate and mating success after being in the presence of host fruit, particularly Citrus fruit [ 17 , 18 , 19 ].…”