Influence of Male Presence on Sexual Maturation in Female Caribbean Fruit Fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The presence of males was shown to affect the rate of female ovarian development in the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew). Virgin females were maintained either in the absence or presence of males. Those sharing a common space with males had either visual contact with the opposite sex or no visual contact. Three strains of Caribbean fruit fly were tested: mass reared strain (flies in colony for more than 20 years); semi-wild strain, flies recently adapted to the laboratory conditions (ca. 12 months); and a wild strain collected in the field. We found that: (1) Mass reared, semi-wild, and wild strains had different female maturation rates, as measured by the presence of mature oocytes, regardless of male presence. (2) Male presence accelerated maturation in wild females and to a lesser extent in semi-wild flies, but had no effect on the long-domesticated mass reared strain. (3) A barrier between female and male cages removed any possibility of visual communication but had no effect on the males’ effect on female maturation. We discuss the adaptive significance of facultative ovarian maturation and the use of male-produced cues to regulate sexual development, and comment on the rapid rate of selection on female maturation under mass-rearing conditions.