Mango headspace volatiles trigger differential responses of the mango fruit fly and its parasitoids.

Before the introduction of (Hendel) to sub-Saharan Africa, (Walker) was economically the most important pest in mango farming. Its native natural enemy, the solitary parasitoid (Wilkinson), played a crucial role in bio-control, later complemented by the exotic parasitoids (Ashmead) and (Sonan) among Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems. To understand the mango--parasitoid tritrophic interaction, we assessed the responses of the fruit fly and the three parasitoids to headspace volatiles from various mango conditions. These conditions included non-infested mature unripe mangoes, -infested mangoes, 7th- and 9th-day post-infestation mangoes, non-infested ripe mangoes of three varieties (Kent, Apple, and Haden), and clean air (blank). We also compared the fruit fly's performance in the mango varieties and identified the chemical profiles of mango headspace volatiles. was attracted to both infested and non-infested mangoes (66-84 % of responsive ) and showed superior performance in Kent mango (72.1 % of the 287 puparia recovered) compared to Apple and Haden varieties. displayed a stronger attraction to the volatiles of -infested mangoes (68-70 %), while and were significantly attracted to the 9th-day post-infestation mangoes (68-78 %) compared to non-infested mango volatiles. Gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy showed substantial quantitative and qualitative differences in volatile profiles among mango treatments. Esters predominated in non-infested ripe, 7th- and 9th-day post-infestation mangoes, while monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes were most dominant in the other treatments. The experiments underscored varying preferences of the species for mango headspace volatiles and their subsequent treatments. These results provide valuable insights for further exploration, specifically in identifying the key volatiles responsible for species responses, to facilitate the development of applicable selective semiochemicals for managing species of African fruit fly.