Evaluation of diets with fresh fruit for reproduction of Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae) under laboratory conditions

Abstract

Abstract The main challenge for the establishment of colonies of Drosophila suzukii is the provision of a suitable diet that facilitates their reproduction and maintenance in the laboratory. The use of a standard diet, developed for the reproduction of D. melanogaster and commonly used for the establishment and maintenance of D. suzukii colonies, has brought considerable problems. This study evaluated a series of diets based on fresh fruit and others based on maize flour with the addition of regional fruit and berry juice aimed at counteracting the low effectiveness of the standard diet based on maize flour. Our results show the clear superiority of the diet based on fresh fruit (strawberry and banana) over those based on maize flour, in terms of the reproduction y establishment of D. suzukii colonies under laboratory conditions.