Oviposition and fertility in the Mediterranean fruit my (Diptera : Tephritidae): Effects of male and female body size and the availability of sperm

We examined oviposition rates and fertility in once-mated and virgin female Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). Mating accelerated the onset of ovipositio n and significantly increased oviposition rate. A single mating sufficed fo r the fertilization of only 66% of the eggs on average. in mated females, o viposition rate decreased with age, as did the proportion of eggs fertilize d. Female size and, the maximum number of fertile eggs produced per day wer e significantly positively correlated, hut female size and the lifetime pro duction of eggs were not. Size appears to affect the reproductive potential of the female, although egg production is limited by additional factors. F emale longevity was not correlated with body size. The longer the female li ved, the more eggs she produced, but this was an outcome of the long ovipos ition period and not of any correlation between the 2 adaptive traits (long er life span and high oviposition rate). Male size affected sperm viability in later stages of the reproductive period of the female he inseminated, b ut it did not affect her overall fertility or longevity. We discuss whether the decrease in oviposition rate is a direct outcome of sperm depletion. o r if other critical resources limit egg production.