The Temporal Pattern of Mating Behavior of the Fruit Fly, Anastrepha zenildae in the Laboratory

The state of Rio Grande do Norte is an important fruit-producing and exporting area in northeastern Brazil. The success of this industry depends on fruit fly population control, especially in fly-free exporting zones. However, many fruits are not exported because of quarantine restrictions imposed by importing countries. A survey in the state has detected a considerable increase of the fruit fly, Anastrepha zenildae Zucchi (Diptera: Tephritidae), probably a result of the introduction of irrigated guava orchards that make fruit available all year. Knowledge of the sexual behavior of Tephritidae has great importance to pest control programs, particularly those that employ the Sterile Insect Technique. In order to characterize the reproductive behavior of A. zenildae, 32 individuals (16 males; 16 females) in each of six generations were submitted to an artificial 12:12 L:D cycle (750: < 1 lux, lights on 07:00–19:00) and observed over their lifetimes. The courtship and copulation occurred in leks and the episodes varied with the time of day, courtship being most frequent between Zeitgeber time (ZT) 3 and ZT 7, peaking at ZT 5–6. Copulations occurred between ZT 2 and ZT 8, with a higher frequency between ZT 5–7 and a peak at ZT 6. Mean duration was 0.28 ± 0.03 min/male (range: 5–163 min). Males in the leks attempted to copulate mainly between ZT 3 and ZT 7 with a peak at ZT 6, and males outside leks peaked at ZT 7. The different timing of sexual behaviors among related sympatric species, including A. zenildae, may contribute to species isolation.