Life history and mating behavior of Rhagoletis solanophaga (Diptera: Tephritidae), a non-diapausing species with highly variable mating duration

TADEO, EDUARDO; ABRAHAM SOLANA; RULL GABAYET JUAN ANTONIO; RODRIGUEZ, CHRISTIAN LUIS

JOURNAL OF INSECT BEHAVIOR

SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS

Lugar: New York; Año: 2016 vol. 29 p. 629 - 642

0892-7553

Abstract As an initial contribution to understanding the adaptive value of behavioral and life-history strategies, the life cycle and mating behavior of an unstudied species of tephritid fruit fly in the genus Rhagoletis are characterized for the first time. Over a 9- month fruiting period, a small proportion of Solanum appendiculatum Dunal (< 10 %) was found to be infested with a single larva of Rhagoletis solanophaga (Hernández &Frías). The average duration of R. solanophaga lifecycle (c.a. 140 days from egg layingto death of adults) exceeded the three month fruitless period. Additionally,R. solanophaga is capable of exploiting Solanaceous plants in at least two genera.These features could have selected for a non-diapausing species of Rhagoletis, a genuswhere most species are univoltine. Nevertheless, some individuals in the populationbecame dormant. As other members of the genus, R. solanophaga exhibited a resourcedefense mating system with forced copulations and multiple mating. Both males andfemales could be highly promiscuous and individual mating success exhibited a widerange of outcomes. Regardless of mating success, mated females stored similaramounts of sperm in two spherical spermathecae. Long copulations were observed,perhaps functioning as a form of mate guarding with probable disadvantages forfemales. We outline hypotheses and opportunities for future comparative studiesexamining sperm competition and mate guarding.