Insects (Sep 2020)

Evaluation of Rearing Parameters of a Self-Limiting Strain of the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, <i>Ceratitis capitata</i> (Diptera: Tephritidae)

  • Rachid Elaini,
  • Romisa Asadi,
  • Neil Naish,
  • Martha Koukidou,
  • Mazih Ahmed

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/insects11100663
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 11, no. 10
p. 663

Abstract

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The Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata, is a significant pest of stone and pome fruit that causes considerable economic losses worldwide. Current control is primarily based on insecticides, which are often mixed with protein baits. Oxitec has developed a self-limiting medfly strain (OX3864A) that demonstrates conditional female-specific mortality in the early life stages. Sustained release of OX3864A males offers medfly control, which should lead to substantial economic benefits in area-wide programmes. In the current study, the optimum quantities of mature and immature stages of the strain are assessed under semi-mass production. Moreover, the rearing and quality control limitations related to the production of this strain are provided. The data here demonstrate that the egg hatch rate can reach >85% under optimum rearing conditions. However, this depends on the number of pupae loaded in a cage and their ages. The suggested pupal density ranges between 14,000 and 18,000 pupae per cage to provide optimum egg production. In parallel, the embryo densities of 1.25–1.5 mL/kg larval Tet+ diet are recommended for strain propagation, while embryo densities of 1.25–2.0 mL/kg larval Tet− diet are suggested for male-only pupal production.

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