Abstract
Male apple maggot flies spend considerable time residing on individual host fruit as territories on which they force-copulate arriving females in search of oviposition sites. Here, we present evidence from investigations in nature and the laboratory that shows the propensity of males to reside on a hawthorn or apple fruit as a territory is significantly modifiable through prior experience with fruit and, hence, involves learning. Previous studies revealed that after a female apple maggot fly, Rhagoletis pomonella, arrived on a host hawthorn or apple fruit, its propensity to accept or reject that fruit for egg-laying was similarly modifiable through prior fruit-exposure experience and also involved learning. We discuss how host fruit learning in males and females, in concert with genetic-based differences in host fruit residence and acceptance behavior between populations of flies originating from hawthorn and apple, could give rise to a reduction in gene flow between populations of flies on these two host types.
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Prokopy, R.J., Cooley, S.S. & Opp, S.B. Prior experience influences the fruit residence of male apple maggot flies,Rhagoletis pomonella . J Insect Behav 2, 39–48 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01053617
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01053617