Female Medfly Refractory Period: Effect of Male Reproductive Status

Abstract

Although it is not known whether wild Mediterranean fruit fly (Ceratitis capitata) females mate more than once with wild or sterile males under natural conditions, laboratory research and observations in mass-rearing facilities have shown that remating does occur in laboratory colonies. The fact that a female may mate more than once is significant for the Sterile Insect Technique since it increases the chances that the female will encounter and mate with a wild male. This is especially important considering evidence that sperm transferred during a second mating predominates over that of the initial male in offspring from multiple-mated females. Unfortunately, factors influencing the receptivity of females to subsequent or multiple matings have largely been ignored.