SIZE, FECUNDITY, AND GONADIC MATURATION OF TOXOTRYPANA CURVICAUDA (DIPTERA: TEPHRITIDAE)

Abstract

The papaya fruit fly, Toxotrypana curvicauda Gerstaecker, is an important pest of papaya. It is distributed from Florida, USA, to northern South America. We studied aspects of its biology on papaya, Carica papaya . Females and males emerged within a 3-d period with similar numbers emerging daily. Females are heavier than males but had similar longevity. Puparial length, puparial weight, and adult weight did not correlate with adult longevity. First chorionated eggs were recorded 4 d after emergence. Females 6 d old had an average of 44 2.2 (sem) chorionated eggs. Heavier females have a reproductive advantage as they have more chorionated eggs than light females. More than 85% of females lived at least 6 d.