Survivorship of sterile males of Ceratitis capitata exposed to the essential oil of Schinus Polygama

M. JOSEFINA RUIZ; FLAVIA JOFRE BARUD; LUCÍA GOANE; MARÍA PÍA GÓMEZ; DIEGO F. SEGURA; LIZA LÓPEZ; MARÍA TERESA VERA

Congreso; 5th Congress of the Latin American Association of Chemical Ecology; 2018

Latin American Association of Chemical Ecology (ALAEQ)

The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is widely used for the control of the Mediterranean fruitfly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata Weidemann (Tephritidae), a worldwide pest causingimportant economic losses. SIT programs rely on the survival of the sterile males releasedas well as on its capacity to compete against wild males for wild females. The essential oilfrom roots of Zingiber officinale (GRO: Ginger root oil) is used in SIT programs because itimproves the sexual competitiveness of sterile males of C. capitata. In previous studies wehave shown that the exposure of sterile males to the essential oil (EO) of Schinus polygamaalso increases the mating success. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether theexposure of sterile males to the EO of S. polygama affects their survival. Taking intoaccount that availability of nutritional resources and density might influence survival; thesefactors were included in the experimental design. Sterile males of the Vienna 7 (tsl) strainexposed to S. polygama (EO), GRO (positive control) and a group control (non-exposed)were tested at two different densities (10 and 30 individuals per experimental unit) andthree nutritional scenarios (nor water nor diet, water, water + diet).The mortality wasregistered daily for seven days. Results showed that males deprived of diet had shorterlifespan (p<0.0001). Neither density nor exposure to EOs had significant effects on survival(p>0.05). Since the exposure to the EO of S. polygama did not affect the survival of sterilemales of C. capitata, this EO might be a good candidate to be used for SIT programs.