Comportamento de corte e padrão temporal de emissão de feromônio de moscas-dasfrutas do gênero Anastrepha (Diptera: Tephritidae): implicações ecológicas e para o manejo integrado de pragas

Abstract

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.