New Insights on Antennal Sensilla of (Diptera: Tephritidae) Using Advanced Microscopy Techniques.

Using light, transmission, scanning electron, and confocal microscopy, we carried out a morphological study of antennal sensilla and their ultrastructures of the Mexican Fruit Fly (Loew), an economically important species that is a pest of mangos and citrus in Mexico and Central America. Our goal was to update the known information on the various sensilla in the antennae of , involved in the perception of odors, temperature, humidity, and movement. Based on their external shape, size, cuticle-thickness, and presence of pores, we identified six types of sensilla with 16 subtypes (one chaetica in the pedicel, four clavate, two trichoid, four basiconic, one styloconic, and one campaniform-like in the flagellum, and three additional ones in the two chambers of the sensory pit (pit-basiconic I and II, and pit-styloconic)), some of them described for the first time in .

Coping with global warming: Adult thermal thresholds in four pestiferous species determined under experimental laboratory conditions and development/survival times of immatures and adults under natural field conditions.

Climate change, particularly global warming, is disturbing biological processes in unexpected ways and forcing us to re-study/reanalyze the effects of varying temperatures, among them extreme ones, on insect functional traits such as lifespan and fecundity/fertility. Here we experimentally tested, under both laboratory and field conditions, the effects of an extreme range of temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 30, 40, and 45 °C, and the naturally varying conditions experienced in the field), on survivorship/lifespan, fecundity, and fertility of four pestiferous fruit fly species exhibiting contrasting life histories and belonging to two phylogenetic groups within the genus : , and . In the field, we also measured the length of the entire life cycle (egg to adult), and in one species (), the effect on the latter of the host plant (mango and grapefruit).

Structural Differences in the Digestive Tract Between Females and Males Could Modulate Regurgitation Behavior in Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae).

With the aim of understanding the mechanisms involved in the regurgitation behavior of tephritid flies, we performed a structural study of the digestive system of the economically important fruit-fly pest, Anastrepha ludens (Loew) using optical, scanning electronic microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), plus a feeding assay. Most structures studied are similar to those previously reported in other adult dipterans, but, importantly, we found sexual differences in some structures that apparently affect regurgitation. We report for the first time sexual differences in the crop duct nerve and large numbers of dense core vesicles within the nerve bundle.

Effect of Resin Ducts and Sap Content on Infestation and Development of Immature Stages of Anastrepha obliqua and Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Four Mango (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae) Cultivars.

We determined the influence of resin ducts, sap content, and fruit physicochemical features of four mango cultivars (Criollo, Manila, Ataulfo, and Tommy Atkins) on their susceptibility to the attack of the two most pestiferous fruit fly species infesting mangoes in Mexico: Anastrepha ludens (Loew) and Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart). We performed three studies: 1) analysis of resin ducts in mango fruit exocarp to determine the density and area occupied by resin ducts in each mango cultivar, 2) assessment of mango physicochemical features including fruit sap content, and 3) a forced infestation trial under field conditions using enclosed fruit-bearing branches to expose mangoes to gravid A. ludens or A.

Efficacy of commercial traps and food odor attractants for mass trapping of Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae).

One of the most important factors for the success of a mass trapping strategy to control a fruit fly involves the selection of an effective trap-lure combination. Because different species of fruit flies respond differently to the physical characteristics of a trap and to bait volatiles, the evaluation of commercial traps and lures that have proved useful against other tephtrids is necessary to determine their efficacy for mass trapping of Anastrepha ludens (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae). Under caged conditions, a commercial hemispherical trap with lateral holes (Maxitrap Plus) proved more attractive to A.