Fruit Fly Nutrition, Rearing and Quality Control
Tephritid fruit flies are recognized worldwide as an important threat to the horticultural industry. Most of the species belonging to this group are highly polyphagous attacking several important fruits and vegetables. They cause direct damage through lar
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Fruit Fly Nutrition, Rearing and Quality Control Samira A. Mohamed, Fathiya M. Khamis, and Chrysantus M. Tanga
Abstract Tephritid fruit flies are recognized worldwide as an important threat to the horticultural industry. Most of the species belonging to this group are highly polyphagous attacking several important fruits and vegetables. They cause direct damage through larval feeding and indirect losses are associated with quarantine restrictions. The increasing awareness of the damage caused by these fruit flies to the horticultural industry has created a demand for the development of control measures based on integrated pest management (IPM) strategies and the sterile insect technique (SIT). However, success of the majority of these control methods largely depends on the ability to establish cost effective rearing methods of the fruit flies as a pre-requisite to understanding their biology, response to attractants and susceptibility to various biological control agents. In the past decades, considerable advances have been made with regard to formulations of diet for rearing fruit flies and nutritional analyses for both adults and larvae. In general, insects require a diet containing a source of energy, a protein source, vitamins and certain mineral salts. Deficiency in some of these nutrients can influence the quality control parameters of the flies such as body size, survival, pupal weight, adult emergence, longevity, flight ability, fecundity, fertility and mating ability. In this chapter, the role played by nutrition in relation to different quality control parameters is discussed. Keywords Tephritid fruit flies • IPM • SIT • Mass rearing • Quality control parameters • Nutrition
S.A. Mohamed (*) • F.M. Khamis • C.M. Tanga Plant Health Theme, International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), PO Box 30772-00100, Nairobi, Kenya e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2016 S. Ekesi et al. (eds.), Fruit Fly Research and Development in Africa - Towards a Sustainable Management Strategy to Improve Horticulture, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-43226-7_10
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Introduction
Adults of the frugivorous tephritid fruit fly species need to feed on a diet rich in amino acids, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals as well as water for growth, development, survival and reproduction. Being anautogenous, females require protein for egg maturation, while males require protein for production of pheromone and accessory gland secretions as well as for renewal of sperm supplies (Drew and Yuval 2000 and reference therein; Yuval et al. 2007). In nature these species obtain their dietary requirements by feeding on bird droppings, honeydew, plant exudates, extra-floral nectaries, pollen, fruit juice, ripe fruits and microorganisms on both host and non-host trees (Christenson and Foote 1960; Steiner and Mitchell 1966; Bateman 1972). Several species of economic importance belong to this group and necessitating the need to understand their biology, behaviour, host range and
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