Resumo:
Fruit flies of the genus Anastrepha are agricultural pests of great economic
importance, especially in Brazil, which is one of the world's largest producers and
exporters of fruits and other vegetables. Some species of this genus attack a wide variety
of these commercially important crops, causing significant damage to production and
directly impacting exports. Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) and Anastrepha
sororcula Zucchi are associated with fruit crops, while Anastrepha grandis (Macquart)
causes direct and indirect damage to cucurbits. Therefore, using more sustainable and less
environmentally aggressive control methods, such as the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT),
is interesting to combat pests. SIT seeks to reduce populations of these flies through the
inundative release of sterile males, which must be able to compete with wild males for
females and be successful in mating. Therefore, understanding the sexual behavior of
these species is essential for the application of SIT to be viable and effective. Males of
this genus exhibit a complex behavioral repertoire that includes body movements, wing
and sound signals, and the emission of sexual pheromones. These chemical, sound and
visual signals play a fundamental role in attracting females and in mating success. Thus,
considering the economic relevance of the insects studied and the fact that these species
have a broad behavioral repertoire, the objectives of this study were: to describe and
compare the courtship behavior and the temporal pattern of pheromone emission of males
of three species of Anastrepha. The results showed significant differences in thebehavioral routines associated with mating success and in the temporal pattern of
pheromone emission. Anastrepha fraterculus showed greater activity during the morning
period, while A. grandis and A. sororcula were more active at night. Similarly, the three
species shared the behavioral unit "Attempt" (AT) as an antecedent to mating (Mating —
MT) and did not differ statistically in the duration of the behavioral units and in the length
of the courtship. However, A. grandis presented 24 behavioral units, while A. fraterculus
and A. sororcula presented 26 behavioral units. The results indicate behavioral differences
that bring A. fraterculus and A. sororcula closer together, but distance these two from A.
grandis. In relation to the temporal pattern of pheromone emission, the species have welldefined times in which it is possible to separate them from each other.
