COMPARISON OF LONGEVITY BETWEEN A LABORATORY STRAIN AND A NATURAL POPULATION OF ANASTREPHA FRATERCULUS (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE) UNDER FIELD CAGE CONDITIONS

PAULA GÓMEZ CENDRA; DIEGO F. SEGURA; ARMANDO ALLINGHI; NATALIA PETIT-MARTY; ROBERTA B. SCIURANO; JORGE L. CLADERA; JUAN C. VILARDI

FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGIST

FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC

Año: 2007

0015-4040

Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann), the South American fruit fly, is one of the most destructive fruit pests infesting major fruit crops. Implementation of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) against this species requires tests that prove that laboratory reared insects are able to survive in the field and mate with wild females. Compatibility among different Argentinean wild populations has been previously verified (Petit Marty et al. 2004). The main objective of the present study is to compare survival between individuals of a laboratory strain and individuals from a wild population. Two experiments were conducted, one using gamma-irradiated (70 Gy) and the other non-irradiated laboratory flies. In each experiment 18 males and 25 females of each population were released into field cages. Surviving insects were recovered after 2, 4, 6 and 8 days. A total of 3 replicates were performed for 2 days, and 2 replicates for 4, 6, and 8 days for the two treatments (irradiated and no irradiated). The relative survivability of lab flies respect to wild ones was analyzed by means of a chi square test of goodness of fit and a regression analysis of the ratio LAB/WILD within the recovered flies on the number of days spent in the cage. Results indicated that laboratory flies survived longer than wild ones under the experimental conditions. Comparison between the two experiments (irradiated and non irradiated LAB flies) by a Wilcoxon matched pairs test showed non significant differences. This means that irradiation dose did not affect survival of mass reared flies. Our results encourage the implementation of SIT to control A. fraterculus populations in Argentina