Chemosterilant as a booby-trapping agent for the Queensland fruit fly, Dacus tryoni

Abstract

Females of Dacus tryoni, booby-trapped by topical application of 400 µg of N,N'-tetramethylenebis( 1-aziridinecarboxamide), sterilized males with which they copulated. Sterility in the males was complete and persisted for at least 10 days after mating contact. Booby-trapped females were less attractive to males than untreated females when the sterilant was applied before the flies reached sexual maturity. Attractiveness was not significantly impaired when the females were treated after reaching sexual maturity. Sterile males were as effective as fertile males in winning mates. The introduction of a small proportion (one-tenth) of booby-trapped females into a cage population caused a considerable drop in overall fertility, but the sterilant was probably spread more by attempted matings rather than by actual copulation.