Quantification and Impact of Cold Storage and Heat Exposure on Mass Rearing Program of Bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera:Tephritidae) Genetic Sexing Strain

Abstract

Cold storage and heat exposure are crucial components of tephritid fruit fly mass-rearing programs, as they influence the development and fitness traits of produced flies. This work investigated the effects of cold storage on the pupal developmental parameters and quality of Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) genetic sexing strain (GSS) adults. Furthermore, the impact of short-term thermal exposure on the fecundity of B. dorsalis (GSS) that also underwent pupal cold storage was examined. Our results show that pupal development time, emergence rate, partial emergence rate, flight ability and fecundity were significantly affected by low temperature and pupal age and their interaction. Pupal cold storage did not pose negative impacts on the mating competition and response to methyl eugenol (ME) in the males. In addition, compared with the adults that were subjected to the same pupal storage protocol (five-day-old pupae stored at 13 °C), adult exposure to 41 °C for 1 h showed significant reparative effects on fecundity. In summary, the cold storage procedure of B. dorsalis (GSS) pupae has the potential to improve the flexibility and efficiency of mass-rearing schedules. Furthermore, short-term thermal exposure showed reparative effects on the fecundity costs induced by pupal cold storage in B. dorsalis (GSS).