Effects of Time of Day, Adult Food, and Host Fruit on Incidence of Calling by Male Caribbean Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

Male Caribbean fruit flies, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), exhibited two distinct calling periods under greenhouse conditions, one within the first hour of daylight and another during mid to late afternoon. In the laboratory, males called only during the afternoon. In the greenhouse, this afternoon calling period was not observed when flies were deprived of food for that day. High rates of calling were observed in the afternoon if flies were provided either a mixture of hydrolyzed torula yeast and cane sugar, or pure sucrose, but not if provided yeast alone, or deprived of food. Deprivation of sugar for 8 h resulted in a 30% reduction in calling rates in the afternoon, whereas such deprivation for 23 h (from late afternoon to midafternoon) nearly eliminated calling during that period. Male Caribbean fruit flies kept in cages with green, ripe, or overripe guava fruit also exhibited calling (35–45%) near dawn, but only those flies kept in cages with overripe fruit called in the afternoon. Such a difference is likely due to males feeding on the surface of overripe fruit.