Oviposition by Toxotrypana curvicauda (Diptera: Tephritidae) in Small to Medium-Size Cuaguayote and Papaya Fruits with Low Sugar Content

Abstract

The papaya fruit fly, Toxotrypana curvicauda Gerstaecker (Diptera: Tephritidae), has several known hosts apart from the commercially valuable papaya (Carica papaya L.; Capparales: Caricaceae), among them Jacaratia mexicana A. DC. (Capparales: Caricaceae), known in Mexico as cuaguayote. Most studies on the papaya fruit fly have been carried out with C. papaya and have neglected the other known host for this fly. We characterized papaya and cuaguayote fruits in which T. curvicauda oviposits in terms of color, length, hardness and thickness of flesh, total solids (as °Brix), and the section (proximal, middle, and distal) of the fruit where the eggs were deposited. Toxotrypana curvicauda females oviposited in medium-size to small but not large fruits of either papaya or cuaguayote. Moreover, females oviposited only in low-sugar content papaya fruits, and mostly (about 88%) in low-sugar content cuaguayote fruits with a small fraction (about 12%) of the eggs laid in medium-size and large fruits. The other variables had no effect on oviposition behavior. This is the first report of T. curvicauda oviposition behavior with respect to cuaguayote.