NEW ALLELE AT A LOCUS AFFECTING DEVELOPMENTAL TIME IN MEDITERRANEAN FRUIT-FLY (DIPTERA, TEPHRITIDAE) AND ITS POTENTIAL USE IN GENETIC SEXING AT THE EGG STAGE

The use of tile chromosome 2 linked eye color mutation sw-z, which cau ses slow development during the larval and pupal stages, has been prop osed as a way to separate males from females in the Mediterranean frui t fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). But rearing costs could be grea tly reduced if females were eliminated at an earlier stage. A end muta tion, sw-y, showing slow embryonic development compared with wild type has been isolated. We compared die duration of the embryonal, larval, and pupal stages at 2 different temperatures among the mutants and hy brids between them. The results showed. that sw-y and sw-z are signifi cantly slower in embryonic, larval, and pupal development than the wil d-type control, with sw-y being the slowest. These differences are gre ater at low than at high temperature. The complementation test indicat es that sw-z and sw-y are 2 alleles at the same locus. It is concluded that separation at the egg-larva transition will be possible with sw- y.