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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #316782
Title: Development of a larval diet for the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera:Tephritidae)

Author
item VERA, TERESA - Consejo Nacional De Investigaciones Científicas Y Técnicas(CONICET)
item OVIEDO, ANDREA - Estacion Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC)
item ABRAHAM, SOLANA - Consejo Nacional De Investigaciones Científicas Y Técnicas(CONICET)
item RUIZ, JOSEFINA - Estacion Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC)
item Chang, Chiou
item WILLINK, EDUARDO - Estacion Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC)

Submitted to: International Journal of Tropical Insect Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/18/2013
Publication Date: 11/20/2014
Citation: Vera, T.M., Oviedo, A., Abraham, S., Ruiz, J.M., Chang, C.L., Willink, E. 2014. Development of a larval diet for the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera:Tephritidae). International Journal of Tropical Insect Science. 34(S1):73-81.

Interpretive Summary: In America, the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) is a major fruit pest with a wide distribution ranging from southern USA to central Argentina. It attacks more than 100 host plants. Many of which have a high commercial value. Currently, the only method available to suppress A.fraterculus populations is the application of an insecticide, which depending on the region is malathion or spinosad. Therefore, environmentally safe methods, e.g. the sterile insect technique (SIT) are being proposed for integration with other control tactics. The SIT has been used successfully in suppression and eradication programmes against many fruit fly species belonging to the Tephritidae family. A key aspect of the success of applying the SIT is to develop a cost-effective nutritive diet. Apart from the nutrients, artificial diets contain components that contribute to the texture and stability of the diet as well as to the availability of nutrients. These include emulsifiers, stabilizers, gelling agents, bulking agents, pH modifiers, and preservatives such as antimicrobials and antioxidants. Much of the research that has been conducted during the last decade to develop mass-rearing protocols has been focused on establishing laboratory colonies. The objective of this study was to evaluate some larval diets for A.fraterculus, taking into account various supports or bulking agents, nutrient proportions and the pH of the diet. Evaluations were made on a small scale to obtain a diet that could then be tested on a larger scale.

Technical Abstract: Mass-rearing protocols must be developed. In particular, a cost-effective larval diet, to implement the sterile insect technique against Anastrepha fratercculus (Wiedemann). The key elements of this diet are the optimal nutrients and their concentrations, diet supports or bulking agents, and the pH of the diet. To improve the currently used formulation and develop a more cost-effective diet, in the present study, we evaluated various supports, sugar contents, nutrient proportions and pH levels. Egg-to-pupa recovery was found to increase when agar was replaced with sponge cloth in the diet. Although low, the recovery values obtained when using the sugarcane bagasse-based diet were similar to those obtained when using the agar-based diet, but the percentage of adult6 emergence was lower. Larval viability was found to increase when the amount of sugar in the diet was doubled. Yet, it is still necessary to evaluate this diet on a larger scale and determine the feasibility of reusing the sponge cloth to reduce the costs of larval diets.