Mating behavior and male mating success in wildAnastrepha Ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae) on a field-caged host tree

Mating behavior and factors affecting mating success of males were studied using wild Anastrepha ludens on a fieldcaged host tree. The most common courtship sequence had five components: (1) male calls from the underside of a leaf, (2) female arrives to the maleoccupied leaf, (3) male orients to female and stops calling, (4) one or both approach to a face-to-face position 1–3 cm apart, and (5) male mounts female after 1–2 s. Courtship behavior was almost identical to that of laboratoryculture flies observed previously under laboratory conditions. Most malefemale encounters occurred at a height of 1–2m, well inside the outer canopy of the tree. Differential mating success by males occurred. No male mated more than once per day, owing possibly to a very short sexual activity period. Factors favoring mating success of males were survival ability and tendency to join male aggregations and to fight other males. Thorax length and age (9–11 days difference) had no effects on male copulatory success. Overall win/loss percentage was not related to mating success because the males that were most successful at mating fought mostly among themselves, driving their win/loss percentage down. However, these successful males (at mating) won most of their fights against less successful males. Results confirmed a lek mating system: males aggregated, called, and defended territories; territories did not contain femalerequired resources; and females exercised mate choice, apparently through selection of sites within leks.