Cold Response of the Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) in the Lab Diet

Abstract

Cold treatment at 0.0 {degrees}C with different exposure durations (0-12 days) was applied to the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) fed on lab diet. The examined developmental stages were early eggs (42 hr)(L.E),first instar (1st), second instar(2nd) and third instar larvae (3rd). Pupation, adult emergence and sex ratios of survived flies were investigated to study the C. capitata responses to this low temperature treatment. Our results showed that based on pupation ratios, the 3rd instar is the most cold tolerant stage with LT99=7.36 days. The second most cold tolerant stage is the 1st instar with LT99=7.33 days. Cold tolerance at both two stages are very close, so they should be paid attention during the cold treatment. There were no significant differences on C. capitata sex ratios among different stages after treatment. This study improves our understanding of C. capitata responses to cold treatment, which may assist in the improvement of the current treatment strategies to control this destructive horticulture pest species.