The relevance of age and nutritional status on the mating competitiveness of medfly males (Diptera: Teprhitidae)

Abstract

Results of previous investigations trying to ascertain which physiological factors are more important to the mating success of medfly males are controversial. In part, this controversy owes to the fact that each factor was evaluated by an independent study using different experimental designs and populations. In the present study we compare the roles of age and nutritional status (immature and adult phases) on the mating competitiveness of Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann, 1824) males. Three parameters were used to evaluate the male mating success: calling behavior (pheromone emission), lek participation and copulation (ability to be chosen by a female). Females gave preference to the males that were given a high protein diet in the larval phase. By contrast, females did not give preference to males that had been well-nourished in the adult phase only. The other parameters evaluated followed the same pattern: young males and males that had been fed a high protein diet during their immature phase had a greater participation in leks and called more often than older males and males that had been fed a diet poor in protein during their larval phase. Therefore, we conclude that the mating success of C. capitata males is determined both by age and nourishment during the immature stage.