Survival, fecundity and fertility of Bactrocera oleae, as affected by amino acid analogues

The effect of twenty five amino acid analogues at various concentrations upon the adult olive fruit fly Bactrocera oleae Gmelin (Diptera: Tephritidae), was tested. Insect survival was significantly shortened by the following amino acid analogues: (in parentheses are indicated the antagonized amino acids) D-cycloserine (alanine), L-glutamic acid--hydrazide (glutamine), DL-allyl-glycine (cysteine), L-canavanine (arginine), L-methionine-DL-sulfoximine (methionine) and 3,4-dehydro-DL-proline (proline). Fecundity was significantly reduced by the same analogues plus aminoethanesulfonic acid (glycine), taurine (alanine), L-norvaline (leucine), a-methyl-DL-serine (serine), DL-hydroxyglutamic acid (glutamic acid), (S)-2-(aminoethyl)-L-cysteine (lysine), a-methyl-DL-methionine (methionine) and a-methyl-DL-histidine (histidine). All the above amino acid analogues also depressed egg-hatching with the exception of taurine, DL-hydroxyglutamic acid, DL-allyl glycine, a-methyl-DL-methionine and a-methyl-DL-histidine. Finally, y-glutamyl-p-nitroanilide (glutamic acid), crotyl-glycine (methionine), DL-7-azatryptophan and 5-methyl-DL-tryptophan (tryptophan), DL-1,2,4 triazole-3-alanine (histidine) and DL-pipecolic acid (proline) did not affect any of the parameters tested.