Effect of Olive Fruit Volatiles on Landing, Egg Production, and Longevity of <i>Bactrocera oleae</i> Females under Different Temperatures

Abstract

Females of the olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae use various contact and volatile plant stimuli to find olive fruits and lay their eggs on them. We detected certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from the olive fruit and studied their effect on female landings on olive fruits, egg production, and longevity under a series of different temperatures from 15 °C to 35 °C. When female flies were maintained at temperatures from 17 °C to 30 °C and exposed to different fruit VOCs either increased or decreased, depending on the substance tested, their landings on olives, egg production, and longevity. Temperature significantly affected the females’ responses to fruit VOCs. The highest responses of the flies to fruit VOCs were observed at 30 °C, except for longevity. By contrast, at 15 °C or 35 °C, the flies did not show any response to VOCs. Our results may contribute to a better understanding of the olive fly positive or negative responses to fruit VOCs and the improvement of its control.

Keywords

• olive fruit
• volatile organic compounds
• olive fly
• <i>Bactrocera oleae</i>
• egg production
• longevity