Abstract
Sex pheromones produced by females of Rhagoletis conversa Bréthes and Rhagoletis brncici Frías are deposited on the surface of fruits after the eggs are laid. These pheromones repel other females, preventing repeated oviposition on the same fruit. They also attract males, thus assisting mating. Observations were made on wild populations, and cross-species behavioral tests were performed on males. The pheromone released by females was significantly more attractive for males of the same species. The two species showed remarkable differences in mating behavior, in the duration of oviposition, and in the number of circuits made around the fruit after eggs were laid. A morphological analysis of flies collected from their respective host plants indicated great host fidelity and the reproductive isolation of the two species. Possibly, the specific male-arresting effect of this pheromone was important for the sympatric speciation and evolution of these sibling species.
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Acknowledgments
Thanks to Dr. Raúl Godoy-Herrera for the enriching commentaries on the manuscript, as well as the suggestions of an anonymous reviewer. This research was supported by Project Code: FIBE 07-12, Dirección de Investigación de la Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educación (DIUMCE).
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Edited by Stefano Colazza – Univ of Palermo
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Frías-Lasserre, D. Effects of Female fruit-marking Pheromones on Oviposition, Mating, and Male Behavior in the Neotropical Species Rhagoletis conversa Bréthes and Rhagoletis brncici Frías (Diptera: Tephritidae). Neotrop Entomol 44, 560–564 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-015-0326-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-015-0326-1