Light Eye Color Mutants as Genetic Markers for Released Populations of Hawaiian Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

Success in a sterile insect release program is partially dependent on positive classification of population samples to determine the ratio of released insects to the target population. Fluorescent powder applied to tephritid fruit fly pupae and current methods to trap and handle field samples produce uncertain results. We describe mutant phenotypes in three species of Hawaiian fruit flies; the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann); the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel); and melon fly, Bactrocera cucurbitae (Coquillett), that allow rapid field identification of flies even after they have been dead and dried for several weeks.