Rearing two fruit flies pests on artificial diet with variable pH.

N P Dias,D E Nava,R A Valgas,G Smaniotto,M S Garcia

doi:10.1590/1519-6984.179347

Abstract

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are considered the main fruit pests worldwide. In Brazil, two species are predominant: the South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus and the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata. In this study, we evaluated the effect of artificial diets with variable pH in their larval development and adult performance. The experiments were carried out in the laboratory at 25 ± 2 °C, 70 ± 10% RH and 12:12h (L:D) photoperiod. Semisolid diets with pH values of 6.0, 5.0, 4.0, 3.0, 2.0, 1.5, and 1.0, adjusted by adding hydrochloric acid were tested. Results indicated that the diet with pH 6.0 did not support larval development of both species of fruit fly. Diets with greater acidic pH values did not allow egg, larvae or pupae development and adult reproduction of A. fraterculus. For C. capitata , the pH of artificial diet exerts greater influence compared to A. fraterculus on the duration and viability of the larval stage, number of pupae, sex ratio and longevity of males.

Highlights

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are considered the main fruit pests worldwide (Ruiz et al, 2014)
The study was conducted at the Entomology Laboratory of Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA) (Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), in a rooms kept at 25 ± 2 °C, 70 ± 10% RH and 12:12h (L:D) photoperiod
The adults of A. fraterculus and C. capitata used in the experiment were obtained at the Food Irradiation and Radioentomology Laboratory of CENA/USP (Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil)

Summary

Introduction

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are considered the main fruit pests worldwide (Ruiz et al, 2014). In Brazil, two species are predominant: the South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann, 1830), infesting 114 species and the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824), with 93 reported hosts (Zucchi, 2008, 2012). Host selection by Tephritidae is determined for several factors including the chemical properties of the fruit (Papachristos and Papadopoulos, 2009). The host fruit pH is considered a limiting factor, as reported in guava fruits (Psidium guajava L.) for A. fraterculus (Oliveira et al, 2014) and citrus (Citrus spp.) for C. capitata (Papachristos et al, 2008). Despite its importance, few studies have discussed the influence of pH in artificial diet on the biology of Tephritidae (Vargas et al, 1984; Chan Junior and Jang, 1995; Hu et al, 1999; Vera et al, 2014)

Methods

Results

Conclusion