Size specific demography of three species of Anastrepha fruit flies

Abstract

Individuals of three Anastrepha species: A. obliqua, A. ludens, and A. serpentina (Diptera: Tephritidae), were sorted according to pupal weight in cohorts of large and small flies. Demographic parameters and reproductive patterns and heterogeneity were determined for each cohort. Large flies of the three species presented greater expectation of life and gross fecundity rates. A. ludens was the species with the longest life span (expectation of life of large adults was 110 days) and the greatest gross fecundity rates (1597 eggs/female for the large flies). While, A. obliqua had the shortest mean age of reproduction (33 days), and the greatest daily egg production (14 eggs/female/day). Net fecundity was similar in these two. A. serpentina had lower fecundity rates. Reproductive information for each size and each species include: age‐by‐parity relations, fraction of sexually mature life in which females lay eggs, and frequency distribution of individual egg production. Results demonstrate that even under constant laboratory conditions and using standard artificial hosts, there is a great deal of life history variation among these Anastrepha species and among other tephritid fruit flies.

Longevity and fecundity of four species of Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae)

“…The first had a longer oviposition period, greater egg production and shorter mean pre-oviposition period. These results for A. obliqua are similar to those reported by Liedo et al (1992) in a comparative study of this species with A. ludens and A serpentina. The latter had greater longevity as did A. sororcula and A. zenildae in the present study, and lower egg production.…”

“…Within this context similar survival strategies can be suggested between A. obliqua and A. fraterculus and between A. sororcula and A. zenildae. According to data from Liedo et al (1992), corroborated by this study, A. obliqua can be characterized as a species with high capacity to colonize because it presents a short life cycle and a very intense reproduction period.…”

“…Regarding mass rearing, in most of the species studied, the flies reared in laboratory have higher fertility rates, reproduce earlier and have a life cycle shorter than wild flies (Carey 1989, Joachim-Bravo & Zucoloto 1998. Body size has been considered a factor that affects survival and fertility of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedmann), Bractocera dorsalis (Hendel) and four species of Anastrepha (Krainacker et al 1989, Liedo et al 1992, Sivinski 1993. Natural resources used as food by adults and physical factors, such as temperature, affect certain demographic parameters, such as survival and fertility (Hendrichs et al 1993, Jacome et al 1999, Perez et al 2000, Taufer et al 2000.…”

Demographic Changes in <I>Anastrepha obliqua</I> (Diptera: Tephritidae) Throughout the Laboratory Colonization Process

“…Daily egg production for WS in this study was nine eggs per female, whereas Liedo et al (1992) and Liedo and Carey (1996) reported 17 and 14.9 eggs per female per d, respectively. This parameter represents the second signiÞcant change induced by colonization; the daily egg production increased to over 22 eggs per female in G 2 , with a maximum of 68, showing that A. obliqua adapted under laboratory conditions (OchiengOdero 1994).…”

“…Over the past two decades, demographic studies have deÞned the effect of the artiÞcial larval diet on mass-reared insects (Celedonio-Hurtado et al 1988) as well as the relationship between pupal size and life expectancy (Liedo et al 1992, Liedo andCarey 1994). In all these studies, wild ßies were compared with laboratory ßies from a single generation.…”