Compatibility and competitiveness of a laboratory strain of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera: Tephritidae) after irradiation treatment

ARMANDO ALLINGHI; GRACIELA CALCAGNO; NATALIA PETIT-MARTY; PAULA GOMEZ CENDRA; DIEGO F. SEGURA; MARÍA TERESA VERA; JORGE L. CLADERA; CECILIA GRAMAJO; EDUARDO WILLINK; JUAN C. VILARDI

FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGIST

FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC

Año: 2007

0015-4040

Different laboratories in Argentina have initiated studies to apply genetics to control of the fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus, by means of the sterile insect technique (SIT). The SIT is based on the production and liberation of adults in large quantities, which were previously sterilized by radiation gamma. The matings between sterile males and fertile females in the field, produces a decrease of the population levels of the pest. One requisite of the SIT is the sexual compatibility between the sterile insects reared in laboratory and the wild ones. A field-cage evaluation was undertaken to evaluate the mating behavior of a laboratory strain (LAB) of A. fraterculus when its males has to compete with wild males, coming from a wild population collected from Tucumán (TUC), comparing also the effect of different doses of radiation on the sexual competitiveness and the fertility of the LAB flies. The results showed that: 1) he existence of full mating compatibility between TUC and LAB flies, 2) A higher propensity of the LAB females to mate, 3) a reduction of the mating success and the duration of the copula in irradiated females, and 4) that a dose of 70 Gy induces 100% sterility with a minimum effect on the competitiveness of the males. These results encourage the application of the SIT in Argentinean populations of A. fraterculus.