Facultative polar extrusion of yolk masses and of hatching at the posterior egg pole in tephritid fruit flies (Diptera)

Abstract

The eggs of Anastrepha fracterculus, A. sororcula, A. obliqua, A. serpentina and of Ceratitis capitata (Diptera : Tephritidae) show considerable morphological differences. Differences were also observed in the depth the eggs are inserted into the host fruits. In vivo inspection of the embryos of Anastrepha species showed that they may extrude polar masses of yolk before dorsal closure. In A.fracterculus and A. sororcula, 4 classes of embryos were found : (1) yolk masses at both ends; (2) masses only at the anterior end; (3) just a posterior mass and (4) embryos without any free mass. Only embryos of classes 3 and 4 were found in A. obliqua, while in A. serpentina, all the embryos extruded masses by the posterior end (class 3). There are variations in the frequencies of the classes as well as in the size of the extruded masses. Just before eclosion, the larvae of the Anastrepha species ingest the anterior mass of yolk (when present), turn round inside the egg, suck the posterior extruded mass, and eclose near the posterior-third of the eggs. No masses were present in samples of Ceratitis capitata embryos and the larvae do not present these complex behaviors and eclose near the anterior pole of the egg. The few previous studies on the embryology of other tephritid species did not report similar phenomena. The differences found among the species in relation to the phenomenon of yolk mass extrusion correlate, apparently, to the taxonomic relationship among them, as established before by genetic and morphologic parameters. Additional analyses of other species and genera are required to confirm if yolk mass extrusion is distinctive for the genus Anastrepha.