COURTSHIP BEHAVIOR IN CERATITIS-CAPITATA (DIPTERA, TEPHRITIDAE) - COMPARISON OF WILD AND MASS-REARED MALES

Field studies in Hawaii have shown that irradiated males from a long-e stablished, laboratory strain of Mediterranean fruit flies, Ceratitis capitata (Weidemann), obtain few matings with wild females. However, s terile males successfully locate natural lek sites, signal (pheromone call) as frequently as wild males, and attract similar numbers of fema les to their territory. Thus, the low mating success of sterile males presumably resulted from their inability to perform courtship acceptab le to wild females. Here, we investigate possible differences in the c ourtship behavior of wild and mass-reared males when mating with wild females. Courtships were videotaped, and transitions between specific behavioral elements were analyzed for both males and females. Mating b y wild males usually followed a predictable sequence of male and femal e behaviors; male calling --> female approach --> male wing vibrating --> female standing --> male wing fanning --> copulation. In contrast, these transitions were generally absent in the courtship of mass-rear ed males. Although not lacking any of the major behavioral elements, c ourtship of mass-reared males was characterized by a low degree of beh avioral integration between the sexes.