Diana Perez-Staples

University of Veracruz | UV · Instituto de Biotecnología y Ecología Aplicada (INBIOTECA)

Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a damaging agricultural pest. Currently, the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) is used as part of its control. The SIT consists of the mass-rearing, sterilization, and release of insects in target areas. Sterile males mate with wild females, and prevent them from laying fertile eggs. However, even if female...

Seminal fluid proteins (Sfps) modify female phenotypes and have wide-ranging evolutionary implications on fitness in many insects. However, in the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens , a highly destructive agricultural pest, the functions of Sfps are still largely unknown. To gain insights into female phenotypes regulated by Sfps, we used nano-liq...

Mating produces profound changes in the behavior of female flies, such as an increase in oviposition, reduction in sexual receptivity, increase in feeding, and even excretion. Many of these changes are produced by copulation, sperm, and accessory gland products that males transfer to females during mating. Our knowledge on the function of the male...

Insect seminal fluid, the non-sperm component of the ejaculate, comprises a variegated set of molecules, including, but not limited to, lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, salts, hormones, nucleic acids, and vitamins. The identity and functional role of seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) have been widely investigated, in multiple species. However, most of...

Mating has profound physiological and behavioral consequences for female insects. During copulation, female insects typically receive not only sperm, but a complex ejaculate containing hundreds of proteins and other molecules from male reproductive tissues, primarily the reproductive accessory glands. The post-mating phenotypes affected by male acc...

Plant‐derived volatiles can have positive or negative effects on insects. Exposure to volatiles of guava ( Psidium guajava L.) (Myrtaceae) enhances male mating success in the South American fruit fly, Anastrepha fraterculus (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), an important pest of various fruits. These volatiles can therefore be used as a post‐tener...

Delia planipalpis (Stein) (Diptera: Anthomyiidae) is a pest of crucifers, such as broccoli, radish, cauliflower, turnip and cabbage. It has been recently described in Mexico as a significant emerging pest of broccoli. Due the lack of knowledge of this pest, the present study aimed to determine its life cycle, female sexual maturation, copulation, o...

Methoprene, a juvenile hormone analog, is used to accelerate sexual maturation in males of species of economic importance in support to the sterile insect technique (SIT). In the SIT, mass-reared sterile males are released into the field and need to survive until they reach sexual maturation, find a wild female, mate with her and then induce female...

Body size is one of the most determining traits in the fitness of insects. For fruit fly (Diptera: Tephritidae) control programs using sterile insect technique, size is a valuable indicator of the quality of the mass-reared insects. However, laboratory colonization and mass-rearing conditions can contribute to the disparity in phenotypic traits bet...

Esta invención hace referencia a un par de sustancias inocuas para el ser humano y para los animales de sangre caliente que pueden ser usadas como insecticidas para el control de insectos plaga que posean el órgano conocido como buche. Esta invención propone el uso de dos polioles: el Propilen glicol (propano-1,2-diol) y el glicerol (propano 1,2,3-...

The Mexican fruit fy (Anastrepha ludens, Loew, Diptera: Tephritidae) and the Mediterranean fruit fy (Ceratitis capitata, Wiedemann, Diptera: Tephritidae) are among the world's most damaging pests affecting fruits and vegetables. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), which consists in the mass-production, irradiation, and release of insects in affect...

Regurgitation is a phenomenon that is part of the digestive process in insects that have a crop organ. It is basically stimulated by liquid food concentration and viscosity. However, it has been proposed that regurgitation can be a defensive barrier to poisoning and then, it would be considered as emesis. We tested the regurgitation response of the...

Male mating success depends on various traits and factors, and correctly identifying these traits can be key in the context of pest management. For tephritid pests, controlled through the sterile insect technique (SIT) traits, such as male size, can be manipulated through mass-rearing procedures. Thus, it is particularly important to understand whe...

Copulation and/or ejaculate components can alter female physiological state and female post-mating behavior. The objective of the present study was to determine if copulation and male reproductive accessory gland products (MAGs) modify the behavior of female Anastrepha ludens (Loew) and Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart; Diptera: Tephritidae) in respons...

Mating and receiving ejaculate can alter female insect physiology and postcopulatory behaviour. During mating, females receive both internal and external stimuli and different components in the ejaculate. In insects, these components consist mostly of sperm and male accessory gland secretions. Some of the most important changes associated with rece...

Methoprene, a juvenile hormone analog, accelerates male sexual maturation in some pest species controlled through the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT). The SIT consists of the mass‐rearing, irradiation and release of insects into affected areas, where sterile males mate with wild females and render them infertile. Sterile males are held for 6 days in...

Resumen. Los estudios básicos sobre biología y comportamiento de un insecto plaga con-forman el soporte principal para el desarrollo y aplicación de métodos de control efectivos y racionales. El conocimiento de aquellos factores bióticos y abióticos que regulan la distribución y abundancia de los insectos son importantes herramientas de decisión en...

Survival and mating success are traits of quality in mass-reared sterile males. Thus, studying the trade-offs between these traits may help to improve process in the sterile insect technique (SIT). Here, we tested the hypothesis that modifying individual metabolism, especially of energetic reserves, may reduce the negative impact of an early reprod...

Promiscuous mating systems are widely distributed among animals and can be promoted by operational sex ratios (number of receptive adults; OSR). In populations where OSR is not biased towards any sex, the possibility that males and females mate with several individuals increases. For both sexes to synchronize in time and space for reproduction, adu...

The sterile insect technique (SIT), an environmentally friendly means of control, is currently used against plant, animal, and human pests under the area-wide integrated pest management. It consists in the mass production, sterilization, and release of insects in an affected area where sterile males mate with wild females leading to no reproduction...

The sterile insect technique (SIT), an environmentally friendly means of control, is currently used against plant, animal, and human pests under the area-wide integrated pest management. It consists in the mass production, sterilization, and release of insects in an affected area where sterile males mate with wild females leading to no reproduction...

Anastrepha ludens (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae) is an endemic pest of Mexico, attacking several fruits of economic importance. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), consisting of mass-rearing, irradiation and release of adults, is used to control this pest in affected areas. Currently, a genetic sexing strain (Tapachula 7, Tap-7) consisting only of A...

Methoprene supplements added to diets of yeast hydrolysate and sugar promote early expression of sexual behaviour and mating in male Queensland fruit fly (Bactrocera tryoni; ‘Q-fly’) and show promise as a pre-release treatment for sterile insect technique programs. Currently it is not known whether the early mating behaviour of methoprene-treated m...

Mating pairs of Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The sterile insect technique (SIT), used for the control of many tephritid fly pests, is based on the rearing and release of large numbers of sexually competitive sterile insects into a wild population. In the interest of reducing expenses and increasing SIT effectiveness, genetic sexing strains (GSS) have been developed. These strains allow the pr...

Production of female gametes is costly; however, there is now wide evidence across different taxa that male ejaculates are also limiting. Thus, multiply mated males may need to partition their ejaculate across successive matings. While more attention has been payed to whether female mating with previously mated males could be sperm limited, there h...

For insect pests controlled through the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), which consists in the mass production, sterilization, and release of target insects into affected areas, sterile male mating success with wild females is the key that will reduce population levels in the next generation. Male size is assumed to be important for mating success,...

Monophagous insects that use discrete resources for oviposition and feeding are especially sensitive to variations in host quality and availability because their opportunities to find these resources are scarce. The monophagous tephritid fly Anastrepha spatulata Stone is a tephritid fly that uses as hosts the fruits of the non-economically importan...

Anastrepha ludens (Loew) is one of the most important pests of citrus and mango crops in Mexico. A method used to control this pest is the sterile insect technique, which consists in the mass production, irradiation, and release of insects in affected areas. The production of insects begins with the establishment of colonies to produce eggs, which...

Polyols are commonly used in food and medicines as sweeteners and preservatives but may also have insecticidal properties against some species of Diptera. Here we compared the insecticidal activity and feeding response of glycerol and propylene glycol (PG) on two tephritids: Anastrepha ludens and Anastrepha obliqua, and the drosophilid Drosophila s...

Methyl eugenol (ME) and inclusion of protein into the adult diet increase the mating competitiveness of the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel). Exposing males to ME or protein is a promising post‐teneral treatment for males being released in the sterile insect technique (SIT). However, the effect of this post‐teneral treatment on male...

Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) (Diptera: Tephritidae), commonly known as the West Indies fruit fly, is a pest species of mango, plum (both Anacardiaceae), and other commercial crops in various countries in the Neotropics, including Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean islands. Currently, the sterile insect technique (SIT) is used to...

Avoiding water loss for insects is critical for survival. Selection for reduced water loss will depend on trade-offs between resources allocated for reproduction and those allocated for resisting desiccation. However, we lack knowledge on how selection for desiccation resistance can affect the male ejaculate. Furthermore, as male ejaculate composit...

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is used in area-wide pest management programs for establishing low pest prevalence and/or areas free of fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae). The aim of this technique is to induce high levels of sterility in the wild population, for this the released insects must have a high sexual competitiveness and field dispers...

After mating, female sexual receptivity usually decreases and returns, depending on various factors, one of which can be the quality of the first or second male. Here, we tested in the South American fruit fly Anastrepha fraterculus if female remating is conditioned by the quality of the second male, when females encounter sequential mates (under n...

It is a new lure-and-kill device based on Torricelli’s barometer principle. The dispensers were kept under field conditions for 42 days. After this time both, insecticide and lures were active. The device is efficient when used with the liquid baits currently employed in the control of tephritid flies. It also offers a high potential for combining...

The monitoring of a pest population often relies on the identification of individuals from traps. For area-wide programs utilizing the sterile insect technique, the further identification of the mated status of females found in traps is of utmost importance. For the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), thi...

For the sterile insect technique to be successful, sterile males need to mate with wild females, transfer an ejaculate and inhibit females from remating. This study evaluated the capacity of irradiated Anastrepha ludens (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae) males of the genetic sexing strain Tapachula 7 (Tap-7) for inducing the sexual refractory period (ti...

¿Cómo se reconoce el verdadero conocimiento del infundado o falso? El método científico se usa para generar nuevo conocimiento, los experimentos deben ser repetibles y refutables. Los resultados se reportan en artículos y se someten a la crítica de la comunidad académica. Los hallazgos son evaluados y validados por “la Academia” (colegas, científic...

Agricultural pests represent a limiting factor for safety food production. Environmental friendly alternatives to the use of synthetic pesticides are required. Here we evaluated the effect of a novel insecticide and a new designed bait station using Anastrepha ludens sterile flies in release–recapture tests in mango orchards. Seven treatments were...

The sterile insect technique (SIT) has been applied successfully for the control of several fruit fly species of economic importance. In species with lek mating systems, as in the Mexican fruit fly, Anastrepha ludens (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae) – where the variance in male mating success is high, males have to compete with other males, and where...

Aging in all organisms is inevitable. Male age can have profound effects on mating success and female reproduction, yet relatively little is known on the effects of male age on different components of the ejaculate. Furthermore, in mass-reared insects used for the Sterile Insect Technique, there are often behavioral differences between mass-reared...

Toxic environmental effects of most insecticides have led to a search for bio-organic insecticides. In this study, we tested the effects of lethal and sublethal exposure to two abamectin-based insecticides (VOLIAM TARGO and LUQ-THOR) on survival, mating, and oviposition of the tephritid Anastrepha ludens (Loew). Different doses of insecticides (0.0...

Background: Field activity of the mixtures of liquid baits and insecticides used in the control of tephritid pests is normally short, both when they are sprayed or when used in trapping or in attract and kill devices. A new lure and kill device based on the Torricelli barometer principle was tested as a long lasting dispenser for two liquid hydrol...

Species that exhibit broad ranges of distribution may successfully navigate environmental changes by modifying some of their life history traits. Environmental humidity imposes a critical stress that organisms may overcome by increasing their resistance to desiccation. We used experimental evolution to investigate adaptation to desiccation in the t...

Ageing can reduce the probability that individuals reproduce. The present study investigates whether ageing influences the mating frequency of mass-reared fertile and sterile Mexican fruit flies Anastrepha ludens (Loew). The ability of males of different ages to inhibit female remating is also determined, and the growth of male reproductive organs...

A simplified and improved rearing system was developed for the mahogany shoot borer, Hypsipyla grandella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) in the laboratory. Improvements were made in neonate rearing, larval containers, adult mating cages and the diet, making the rearing protocols more suitable for eventual large-scale rearing. The larval diet was...

Nest construction is a common form of parental care in soil organisms. However, it is unknown whether the tropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus produces nests in soils with low nutritional quality habitat. Here we studied the reproductive behaviour and nest site selection of P. corethrurus , and tested the hypothesis whether P. corethrurus pro...

Interaction between the depth and nutritional quality of the soil on nest construction in the tropical endogeic earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus Soil depth: Shadow = 0–9 cm, Intermediate = 10–18 cm, Deep = 19–27 cm. Soil Quality: S = soil only, G = soil + grass, L = soil + legume. Vertical lines indicate 95% confidence intervals.

Interaction between the depth and nutritional quality of the soil on the production of internal excreta in the tropical endogeic earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus Soil depth: Shadow = 0–9 cm, Intermediate = 10–18 cm, Deep = 19–27 cm. Soil Quality: S = soil only, G = soil + grass, L = soil + legume. Vertical lines indicate 95% confidence intervals.

Database nests

Spatial association between biomass offspring and internal excretas (treatments S, N = 15) of the earthworm tropical endogeic Pontoscolex corethrurus S = only Soil. The line in fitted with a linear regression.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) has been used successfully for the control of fruit flies. The efficiency of this technique can be significantly reduced when sterile released insects are exposed to adverse conditions and predators, as a great number of sterile insects die before reaching sexual maturity and thus fail to mate with wild females. T...

Male and female age are important factors that can influence mating and remating behavior. Females can discriminate against or prefer older males, but there have been relatively fewer studies on how female and male age influence female remating. Here we showed in wild flies of the Mexican fruit fly Anastrepha ludens (Loew), that when females were g...

The mahogany shoot borer Hypsipyla grandella (Zeller) is one of the worst neotropical forest pests. Currently there is no control method that effectively reduces levels of infestation to an economically acceptable threshold. Basic knowledge on the sexual behavior of this pest is required to develop control methods. However, so far reproduction in t...

Nest construction is a common form of parental care in soil organisms. However, it is unknown whether the tropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus selects sites for nest construction when the nutritional quality of the soil is irregular. Here we studied the reproductive behaviour and nest site selection of P. corethrurus. In tridimensional terrar...

Nest construction is a common form of parental care in soil organisms. However, it is unknown whether the tropical earthworm Pontoscolex corethrurus selects sites for nest construction when the nutritional quality of the soil is irregular. Here we studied the reproductive behaviour and nest site selection of P. corethrurus. In tridimensional terrar...

We review female remating in tephritid flies of economic importance, inhibition of female remating by males and focus on the factors that can modulate postcopulatory mating behaviour. Despite many studies on the sexual behaviour of tephritids, we still know little about the processes occurring during the copula and how the different components of t...

Tephritid pests controlled through the sterile insect technique (SIT) are mass-reared and subsequently released in affected areas. Several quality parameters are currently used to test adults, but none take into account interactions with a predator. When sterile males are released in the field, they will need to avoid predators until they reach sex...

Female remating in target pest species can affect the efficacy of control methods such as the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) but very little is known about the postcopulatory mating behavior of these pests. In this study, we investigated the remating behavior of female Anastrepha serpentina (Diptera: Tephritidae), an oligophagous pest of Sapotaceae...

McPhail type traps are commonly used to catch tephritid pests using liquid baits as attractants. Unfortunately, these traps allow that some flies escape after feeding on the bait. Recently, a long-lasting and nontoxic enzymatic-hydrolyzed protein, known commercially as CeraTrap, has been introduced as a novel liquid bait. Because feeding on hydroly...

Sperm competition (SC) occurs when the sperm of two or more males compete for the same set of ova. Theoretical models and experimental observations indicate that the presence of rival males causes focal males to adjust sperm allocation in a given copulation. Males allocate more sperm when they perceive the presence of one rival male (SC risk), eith...

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is currently used to control Mexican fruit fly Anastrepha ludens Loew (Diptera: Tephritidae). However, mass-rearing can alter the quality of released males. If males that are mass-reared have behaviours different from those of their wild counterparts, then this may diminish the effectiveness of SIT. Questions rema...

Variance in female quality can result in males discriminating females either through precopulatory or via postcopulatory choice. Male cryptic choice can be exhibited through copulation duration and strategic ejaculation. Female quality can also affect sperm storage distribution. Here, we studied sperm allocation in three tephritid flies with contra...

The behaviour that mediates divorce and partner change in socially monogamous species is largely unstudied and unknown, although roles and adaptive functions in some birds have been inferred from breeding outcomes, partial behavioural records and captive studies. Here, roles and func- tions of natural within-season mate switching of a colonial bird...

The sterile insect technique (SIT) involves the inundative release of irradiated (sterile or partially sterile) insects to decrease population levels in a target pest species. The effectiveness of SIT programs depends on sterile males mating successfully and inducing reproductive failure in wild females, or in the F1 generation in the case of lepid...

Females of many tephritid fruit flies can mate more than once, and can store ejaculates from multiple males. As well as being an important element of reproductive biology, multiple mating by females is of particular relevance for sterile insect technique programs used to control major tephritid pests. Here we investigate the consequences of multipl...

Post-teneral dietary supplements have been found to improve mating performance of male Bactrocera tryoni (Froggatt) (Diptera: Tephritidae) (Q-fly) and show considerable promise for enhancement of sterile insect technique (SIT) programmes even when applied within the current 48 h pre-release holding period. However, Q-flies are released as a bisexua...