Ant cues affect the oviposition behaviour of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Africa

Van Mele Paul, Vayssières Jean-François, Adandonon Appolinaire, Sinzogan Antonio Alain Coffi. 2009. Ant cues affect the oviposition behaviour of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Africa. Physiological Entomology, 34 (3) : 256-261.

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-3032.2009.00685.x

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Quartile : Q2, Sujet : ENTOMOLOGY

Liste HCERES des revues (en SHS) : oui

Thème(s) HCERES des revues (en SHS) : Psychologie-éthologie-ergonomie

Résumé : Although most studies on fruit fly oviposition behaviour focus on horizontal interactions with competitors and cues from host plants, vertical interactions with predators are poorly documented. The present study provides direct evidence indicating that the oviposition behaviour of the two main mango fruit fly species, Ceratitis cosyra (Walker) and Bactrocera invadens Drew-Tsurata & White, is affected by secretions of the dominant arboreal ant Oecophylla longinoda (Latreille). When offered ant-exposed and unexposed mangoes in the absence of the ants, both fly species are reluctant to land on ant-exposed fruits and, when having landed, often take off quickly and fail to oviposit. The number of puparia collected from unexposed mangoes is approximately eight-fold higher than from ant-exposed ones. The results obtained from laboratory experiments and field observations confirm that adult fruit flies are more affected through repellence by ant cues than by direct predation. The use of cues by fruit flies in predator avoidance has implications for evolutionary ecology, behavioural ecology and chemical ecology.

Mots-clés Agrovoc : Bactrocera, Ceratitis, Mangifera indica, Tephritidae, Oecophylla, interactions biologiques, entomologie, reproduction, écologie animale, développement biologique, Oecophylla longinoda