Abstract
Cold treatment at 0.0 °C with different exposure durations (0–12 days) was applied to the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) fed on a lab diet. The examined developmental stages were early eggs (<6 h), late eggs (>42 h), first instar, second instar and third instar larvae. Pupation, adult emergence and sex ratios of survived flies were investigated to study the C. capitata responses to this low temperature treatment. Our results showed that exposure time at low temperature has a clear effect on pupation and adult emergence. Based on pupation ratios, the first and third instar are the most cold tolerant stages, with LT99 = 7.3 for both of them. Cold tolerance at both stages are very close and no significant differences were detected. There were no significant differences on C. capitata sex ratios among different stages after treatment. This study improves our understanding of C. capitata responses to cold treatment, which may assist in the improvement of the current treatment strategies to control this destructive horticulture pest species.
Highlights
The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the most destructive and invasive insect pests for horticulture biosecurity, global trade and world-wide phytosanitary [1]
Probes were used to monitor the temperature in the cold room, and the results showed that the temperature was stable at 0.0 ± 0.2 ◦ C, from the start to the end of the experiment
Our results showed that the five developmental stages differed in their cold tolerance at 0.0 ◦ C
Summary
The Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the most destructive and invasive insect pests for horticulture biosecurity, global trade and world-wide phytosanitary [1]. The main hosts include citrus, stone fruits, pome fruits, peppers, tomatoes and figs [3]. Plant hosts include avocadoes, apricots, persimmons, strawberries, grapes, bananas, bitter melons, carambolas, coffees, guavas, peppers, papayas and blueberries. C. capitata are regarded as one of the most destructive horticulture pest species. In recent years, the growing international trade of plant products increased the risk of introducing fruit flies across countries. The current global trade of farm fresh products is suffering from the damages by various fruit fly species, prompting the need to develop more effective ways of fruit fly control
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