ARS | Publication request: ASSESSMENT OF OVARIAN DEVELOPMENT IN ANASTREPHA SUSPENSA (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE)

Submitted to: Entomological Society of America Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 20, 2005
Publication Date: December 18, 2005
Citation: Kendra, P.E., Montgomery, W.S., Epsky, N.D., Heath, R.R. 2005. Assessment of ovarian development in anastrepha suspensa (diptera: tephritidae). 53rd Annual Meeting of Entomological Society of America. D0640, p. 145.

Technical Abstract: Reliable methods are needed for assessing sexual maturity in field-captured Tephritid fruit flies. To provide such a tool for female Caribbean fruit flies, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), this study documented changs in ovarian development over a four week period following adult eclosion. The ovarian maturation process was classified into six developmental stages. For each stage, four morphometric characters were examined--length of ovary, width of ovary, an ovarian index (length of ovary multiplied by width of ovary), and length of terminal follicle. Ovarian characters were compared by stage and correlated with the number of mature oocytes per ovary (egg load). For all four characters, correlations were highest with females up to two weeks old, and declined with increasing age and successive cycles of oviposition. Ovarian index was the most reliable indicator of mature oocytes, but for efficient processing of a large number of flies, measurements of ovary width would provide an appropriate assessment of reproductive status. This method would facilitate evaluation of the age structure of a fly population captured in field deployed traps.