Sexual competitiveness of sterile Ceratitis capitata males exposed to essential oils from non‐host plant species native to Argentina

• Published in: Entomologia experimentalis et applicata Vol. 171; no. 2; pp. 146 - 155
• Main Authors: Barud, Flavia Jofré, Gómez, María Pía, Ruiz, María Josefina, Bachmann, Guillermo E., Goane, Lucía, Segura, Diego F., Lara, Natalia, Murúa, Fernando, Asfennato, Alejandro, Gómez, Erica, Ruiz, Cynthia, Garavelli, Esteban, Vera, María Teresa, López, María Liza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Wiley Subscription Services, Inc 01-02-2023
• Subjects: Ceratitis capitata; Competitiveness; Deprivation; Diptera; Electroantennograms; Essential oils; Exposure; Fruit flies; Fruits; Host plants; Indigenous species; Insects; Life span; male sexual competitiveness; Males; Mating; medfly; Mediterranean fruit fly; non‐host volatiles; Oils & fats; Pest control; Pests; Plant species; Schinus polygama; Semiochemicals; Sesquiterpenes; SIT; sterile insect technique; Sterilized organisms; Tephritidae; Volatiles; Argentina
• ISSN: 0013-8703; 1570-7458
• DOI: 10.1111/eea.13255

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is used to control fruit fly pests, such as the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae). Enhancing sexual competitiveness of mass‐reared sterile males can contribute to making this technique more effective. It has been shown that exposure to volatiles from essential oils (EOs), such as ginger root oil (GRO) and those from host fruits, increases male mating success. We evaluated the effect of EOs from non‐host species native to Argentina, Schinus polygama (Cav.) Cabrera (Anacardiaceae) and Baccharis spartioides (Hook. & Arn.) Remy (Asteraceae), on the sexual competitiveness of sterile C. capitata males. In field cage experiments, sterile males exposed to S. polygama EO increased their mating success. In addition, sterile males exposed to this EO achieved more matings on trees than non‐exposed males, thus suggesting the former are more prone to locate and defend the pheromone‐calling territory. Deprivation of water and/or food significantly reduced males' life span, but exposure to S. polygama EO and GRO did not affect their survival. Schinus polygama EO is composed of mono‐ and sesquiterpenes with behavioral and electroantennographic responses in medflies, indicating that semiochemicals that boost medfly sexual competitiveness combine in this EO.
Exposure to Schinus polygama (Anacardiaceae) essential oil volatiles enhanced the sexual competitiveness of sterile males of Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) by achieving more matings at the territory. deprivation of water and/or food significantly reduced males' life span, but exposure to S. polygama EO did not affect their survival. Schinus polygama EO is composed of mono‐ and sesquiterpenes with behavioral and electroantennographic responses in medflies, indicating that semiochemicals that boost medfly sexual competitiveness combine in this EO.