This work was carried out in orchards of guava progenies, and loquat and peach cultivars, in Monte Alegre do Sul, SP, Brazil, in 2002 and 2003. Guavas and loquats were bagged and unbagged bi-weekly and weekly, respectively, for assessment of the infestation period. Peach was only bagged weekly. The assays started when the fruits were at the beginning of development, but still green. Ripe fruits...

The preferences of Diachasmimorpha longicaudata (Ashmead) for larvae of Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) were evaluated under laboratory conditions in no-choice and dual-choice tests, based on percent parasitism, proportion of emerged parasitoids, proportion of female offspring, and number of parasitoid female visits to and ovipositor probes on the artificia...

The history of classical biological control of fruit flies in Brazil includes two reported attempts in the past 70 years. The first occurred in 1937 when an African species of parasitoid larvae (Tetrastichus giffardianus) was introduced to control the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata and other tephritids. The second occurred in September 1994 when the exotic parasitoid Diachasmimorph...

The interaction between insects and micro-organisms is multifaceted, ranging from pathogenicity to complex mutualistic relations. The increasing number of studies addressing the bacteria-insect interface is gradually revealing the intricacy of these interactions (Bourtzis and Miller 2003, 2009). Until recently, the association between the tephritid fruit flies and bacteria received relatively l...

In the present work, survival of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) on artificially infested ‘Clemenules’ clementine mandarins (Citrus reticulata Blanco) was assessed on fruit subjected to integrated quarantine treatments consisting of irradiation with X-rays at doses of 0 (control), 30, 54, and 164 Gy followed by exposure to 1°C for 0 (control), 3...

In Drosophila, Sxl functions as a binary switch in sex determination. Under the control of the primary sex-determining signal, it produces functional protein only in XX animals to implement female development. Here we report that, in contrast to Drosophila, the Sxl homologue in the Medfly, Ceratitis capitata, expresses the same mRNAs and protein isoforms in both XX and XY animals irrespective o...

N-Alanyldopamine (NBAD) is the primary catechol tanning agent precursor in typical brown or yellow insect cuticle. The insect integument enzyme responsible for the synthesis of NBAD was reported to be expressed solely in the epidermis, and only at the time of cuticle sclerotization. However, in this study we demonstrate directly that the enzyme also is expressed in a constitutive manner in the ...

We recorded for the first time presence of two fruit flies pests, Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) and Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae) parasitoid Doryctobracon areolatus (Szépligeti) (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) in oceanic archipelago Fernando de Noronha, Pernambuco, Brazil. The specimens were collected traps installed during June/2019 to February/2020. species are widespread Br...

Immature stages of Ceratitis capitata were tested as a model for hematoporphyrin IX (HP IX) phototoxicity. The lethal concentration 50 (LC(50)) of HP IX in the food was determined during postembryonic development until adult emergence as 0.173 mm (95% CI: 0.138-0.209). The corresponding HP IX LC(50) during the dispersal period alone was 0.536 mm (95% CI: 0.450-0.633). HP IX toxicity was compare...