A basis for the renewal of sterile insect technique for the olive fly, Bactrocera oleae (Rossi)

The olive fly (OLF), Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), is an invasive tephritid fruit fly that causes extensive damage to olive crops around the world (especially in the Mediterranean basin and North America). Previous attempts to use the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) for the OLF were not successful because of the inability to rear high quality OLF in the laboratory on an artificial diet. New improvements in rearing methods and additional understanding of the basic biology of the OLF have led to a renewal of interest in using SIT for OLF. This review discusses the history, difficulties, improvements and future directions of OLF mass-rearing. Issues include: the design of cages and oviposition substrates, cost and quality of artificial diets, maintenance of endosymbiotic microbiota, control of pathogenic microbes, collection of pupae, the fitness of adults, and the competitiveness of sterilized laboratory males released to the field.