DOES FOOD SHORTAGE CAUSE FRUIT-FLIES (DIPTERA, TEPHRITIDAE) TO DUMP EGGS

We hypothesized that a ''sense of malaise'' or impending death as a co nsequence of deprivation from food for 24 h would cause polyphagous Ce ratitis capitata (Weidemann), oligophagous Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh ), and relatively monophagous Rhagoletis mendax Curran flies to ''dump '' eggs in abnormally large numbers in favored host fruit and be less discriminating against ovipositing in unfavored host fruit. Evidence f rom tests evaluating propensity to bore into fruit and tests measuring amount of oviposition in fruit over a 3-h period does not support thi s hypothesis.