Abstract
The reproductive behaviors and mating systems of the fruit-infesting species of the Dacinae tribes Ceratitidini and Dacini are increasingly well understood, while in the non-frugivorous tribe Gastrozonini, data are lacking. In the present study, the reproductive behavior of Anoplomus rufipes from North Thailand was studied in the field, other behaviors also in the laboratory. A. rufipes mated on young bamboo plants growing in areas destroyed by fire. Exudates of extrafloral nectaries produced by the young bamboo plants provided food for the females. Factors affecting the choice of the mating site were favorable microclimatic conditions and food. Courtship behavior was performed on the upper sides of bamboo leaves and included pheromone calling (abdominal elevation, anal pouch eversion, abdominal pleural distention), anal dabbing, looping flights and a specific lofting/body swaying behavior. The males searched individually for females or formed leks containing up to four males. The reproductive behaviors and lek formation of A. rufipes are compared to other Dacinae (Ceratitis, Bactrocera), and their functions are discussed. Hitherto unknown data on the general biology of A. rufipes are also included. A. rufipes larvae infested living bamboo shoots of Cephalostachyum pergracile, and the observed behaviors of the adults included locomotion, grooming, feeding, oral droplet deposition, bubbling and agonistic behavior.
Highlights
The reproductive behaviors of fruit flies (Tephritidae) are extraordinary diverse, ranging from resource-based mating systems in which males wait for females at their egg-laying sites and engage in elaborate pushing contests with opponents, to mating systems away from resources in which males perform complex courtship behaviors or offer nutritional “nuptial gifts” to the females [1,2,3,4,5]
Mating occurs on fruits or leaves of the host plant, and the courtship behavior involves signaling with pheromones or acoustic and visual displays (“calling”)
The mating system of the non-frugivorous A. rufipes (Gastrozonini) is similar to the mating systems found in the frugivorous lek-forming species of Ceratitis (Ceratitidini) and Bactrocera (Dacini)
Summary
The most complex signaling systems in tephritids are found in polyphagous frugivorous tropical species. They include important fruit pests, such as Anastrepha (Neotropical; subfamily Trypetinae) or Ceratitis and Bactrocera (Old World; subfamily Dacinae) [6]. Mating occurs on fruits or leaves of the host plant, and the courtship behavior involves signaling with pheromones or acoustic and visual displays (“calling”). The subfamily Dacinae species of Ceratitidini (for example, the notorious medfly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann)) or Dacini (for example, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), B. cucurbitae (Coquillett)) mostly develop in fruits belonging to a wide spectrum of families of plants. Species belonging to the third tribe of Dacinae, Gastrozonini, are non-frugivorous, and all species with known host plants develop in bamboos (Oriental species) or in other grasses (Afrotropical species) [7,8,9,10]
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