Chemical Composition and Behavioural Responses of Male and Female Bactrocera dorsalis to their Volatile Emissions

Authors

Fikira KimbokotaFollow

Abstract

Bactrocera dorsalis, (Tephritidae) presented a grave threat to a broad range of fruit and vegetables in the tropics, including Tanzania. Bactrocera dorsalis is among the most destructive tephritid fruit fly, causing devastating loss of fruits especially mango. Insects use olfactory cues to locate hosts, oviposition sites and mating, in which pheromones are believed to be a strong cue used by insect to locate their mates. However, due to their high ability to adapt and occupy different ecological niches into various agroecological zones, there is a need to evaluate pheromonal composition from time to time to improve their control strategies. Therefore, this study conducted olfactometric assays and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) to evaluate attractiveness and identity, respectively, of constituents of volatiles emitted by both sexes of B. dorsalis. The results show that volatiles emitted by males were more attractive to both female and their own male conspecific than female volatiles (PROC ANOVA, F (0.05, 4) = 71.05, P < 0.001). GC-MS analyses of volatiles from the two sexes comprise mainly by esters and spiroacetals. These results have contributed in understanding the pheromone communication; and have provided ground information for the development of control strategies to improve existing monitoring and control strategies for this pest

Recommended Citation

Kimbokota, Fikira (2019) "Chemical Composition and Behavioural Responses of Male and Female Bactrocera dorsalis to their Volatile Emissions," Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences: Vol. 8 : No. 2 , Article 6.
Available at: https://doi.org/10.56279/jhss.v8.i2.5