Relative Attractiveness of Oranges and Grapefruits to Mexican Fruit Flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in a Wind Tunnel

Grapefruits and sweet oranges were equally attractive to, and elicited comparable oviposition behavior from, naïve laboratory-strain female Mexican fruit flies, Anastrepha ludens (Loew), in wind-tunnel experiments. Neither fruit attracted nor elicited oviposition behavior from naïve wild females. For laboratory females, experience with either grapefruits or oranges enhanced attraction to both fruits and enhanced attraction to the experienced fruit more so than to the other, but did not affect oviposition propensity. For wild females, experience with either fruit enhanced attraction to both fruits, enhanced attraction to the experienced fruit more so than to the other, and increased oviposition propensity on both fruits. Also, wild females experienced with grapefruits oviposited more readily in grapefruits than did those experienced with oranges. Both laboratory and wild females experienced with either fruit directed less oviposition behavior toward wind-tunnel walls than did naïve females. Laboratory males were attracted to both fruits, but wild males were attracted to neither. Overall, experience with fruit had smaller effects on responses of males compared with effects on females.