Chemical and visual perception of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera, Tephritidae) in laboratory

Chemical and visual perception of Anastrepha fraterculus (Diptera, Tephritidae) in laboratory. The South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann, 1830) is one of the greatest threats to the fruit growing industry in Brazil. During the feeding process, the larvae build galleries within the fruit, altering the flavor and damaging its production and commercialization. The present work had as its objective to study the factors involved in the choice of the host by A. fraterculus. Electroantennographic responses of the males and females to the ethanolic extracts of the fruits of the peach tree - Prunus persica, cultivar Chimarrita (Rosaceae), Surinam cherry tree - Eugenia uniflora (Myrtaceae), Guabirobeira tree - Campomanesia xanthocarpa (Myrtaceae) and Brazilian guava tree - Psidium cattleianum (Myrtaceae) were considered. Also recorded was the influence of the color (yellow, green and red) and the composition of the substratum of oviposition (pulps of Brazilian guava, Guabiroba, Surinam cherry and peaches) in the fecundity. Electroantennographic responses of the females were distinct to the extracts of the unripe and ripe Guabiroba, ripe Brazilian guava and unripe Surinam cherry. In antennae of the males, the greatest depolarization average was registered in the responses to the extracts of ripe and unripe Guabiroba, ripe and unripe Brazilian guava and unripe Surinam cherry. Electrophysiologic responses did not differ statistically between the sexes for all the treatments. The colors of the substratum of oviposition did not affect the fecundity. The females ovipositioned more on the substratum containing pulp of peaches and of Guabiroba, when compared to the respective controls.