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Journal of Entomology

Year: 2007 | Volume: 4 | Issue: 2 | Page No.: 129-135
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Authors

N. Demirel

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Research Article

Behavior Paradigms in the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata (Weidemann)

N. Demirel
The Medfly, Ceratitis capitata Weidemann (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the most important fruit fly pests in the world. Several different behavior patterns have been reported including courtship behavior, mating behavior, oviposition behavior, feeding behavior and resting behavior. Courtship behavior described for wild males usually followed a predictable sequence of: male calling → females approach → male wing vibrating → female standing → male wing fanning → copulation. In contrast, these transitions were generally absent in the courtship of mass-reared males. Mating behavior can be classified as two different tactics, lekking and fruit guarding by males. Lekking, defined as participating in a male aggregation where at least one male is emitting pheromone from the anal gland. Fruit guarding by males is the alternative-mating tactic in which a male is stationed on a host and accosts females who alight on it to oviposit. In addition, some synthetic compounds, e.g., trimedlure, can affect mating behavior of medfly males. In the ultimate stage of oviposition behavior, the Medfly lays eggs underneath the skin of host fruit. This describes as a blanket term covering pre-and post-oviposition behavior, which may change based on host and host plant variety or the availability of the host plants containing resources such as fruit and protein food stimuli. Feeding behavior of the adult medflies includes acquiring carbohydrates, primarily from feeding on the juices of ripe fruit and honeydew, protein from bird feces and decomposing fruit, whereas the immature stages develop better on diets containing higher concentrations of glucose and sucrose than containing high starch concentration or maltose. Resting behavior patterns differed between males and females, location on the host plant and temperature. Understanding these can be very important to its control on crops. Research concerning Medfly behavior could improve methods to control this important pest.
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