LEKKING BEHAVIOR OF ANASTREPHA FRATERCULUS (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE)

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

FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGIST

FLORIDA ENTOMOLOGICAL SOC

Año: 2007

0015-4040

Anastrepha fraterculus Wiedemann (Diptera: Tephritidae) displays a lek mating system. Males form groups in which they simultaneously display signals (acoustical, visual, or chemical) to attract females with the purpose of mating. Females visit the lek and choose a male to mate. Scarce information is available in A. fraterculus about the main factors involved in female choice and the behavior of displaying males. This information could be important within the context of pest control programs based on the Sterile Insect Technique, because departures from normal sexual behavior caused by artificial rearing could affect males performance in the field. Here we study A. fraterculus males? behavior within the leks and analyze the importance of behavioral and morphological traits on their copulatory success. The existence of preferred places for lek formation was evaluated in field cages with trees inside and analyzed by dividing the trees in sectors according to a three-dimension system. Males were individually weighted, marked and observed every fifteen minutes. Morphometric and behavioral characteristics of successful and unsuccessful males were compared. Most successful males grouped in a region of the tree characterized by the highest light intensity in the first two hours of the morning. Results showed that calling activity is positively associated with copulatory success. Copulations were more frequent for males calling inside the lek, indicating that calling activity and presence in the lek are key factors for copulatory success. A positive association between copulatory success and eye length was found; some characteristics of the face were also associated with copula duration and latency.