title: Laboratory longevity and competitiveness of Dacus ciliatus Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae) following sub-sterilizing gamma irradiation.
abstract: The effect of a sub-sterilizing gamma radiation dose on Dacus ciliatus adults was investigated to assess the suitability of the sterile insect technique (SIT) as an alternative method to control this pest. Late pupae (48 h prior to adult emergence) from a laboratory strain were irradiated with 120 Gy of gamma rays emitted by a 60Co source. Following adult emergence, the mortality of irradiated and non-irradiated cohorts was recorded. Over a period of 50 days after emergence, no significant negative effects of irradiation upon the longevity of male or female laboratory flies were observed. A laboratory competitiveness study (Fried test), using irradiated laboratory and wild males at a ratio of 3:1 was conducted to assess the ability of irradiated males to reduce the egg hatch rates of a wild population. The overall competitiveness was found to be ca. 0.32, suggesting a reduced, but satisfactory, quality of irradiated laboratory as compared with wild males. Based on the above findings, we calculated and proposed effective male release ratios for field application of SIT against D. ciliatus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology,Institute of Plant Protection,The Volcani Center,ARO,P.O. Box 6,Beit-Dagan 50250,Israel.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nemny-Lavy
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology,Institute of Plant Protection,The Volcani Center,ARO,P.O. Box 6,Beit-Dagan 50250,Israel.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nestel
authors.affiliation: Department of Entomology,Institute of Plant Protection,The Volcani Center,ARO,P.O. Box 6,Beit-Dagan 50250,Israel.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Rempoulakis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D005260:Female; D005720:Gamma Rays; D008136:Longevity / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008297:Male; D010572:Pest Control, Biological / Q000379:methods*; D011679:Pupa / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000528:radiation effects*; D033621:Tephritidae / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects*
keywords: Ethiopian fruit fly; Sterile Insect Technique; fried index; longevity; male competitiveness