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

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

JOURNAL OF INSECT BEHAVIOR

SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS

Lugar: New York; Año: 2016

0892-7553

Thelife history and mating behavior of an unstudied species of tephritid fruit flyin the genus Rhagoletis are describedfor the first time. Over a9-month fruiting period, a small proportion of Solanum appendiculatum Dunal (< 10%) was found to be infested with a single larva of Rhagoletis solanaphaga Hernández & Frías. The average duration of R. solanaphaga lifecycle (c.a. 140 daysfrom egg laying to death of adults) exceeded the three month fruitless periodof the dry season. Additionally, R. solanophagais not strictly monophagous, as it is capable of exploiting Solanaceous plantsin at least two genera. These features could have selected for a non-diapausingspecies of Rhagoletis, a genus wheremost species are univoltine. Nevertheless, some individuals in the populationbecame dormant. As other members of the genus, R. solanaphaga exhibited a resource defense mating system withforced copulations and multiple mating. A high variability in mating durationwas observed, perhaps functioning as a form of mate guarding.