Insect populations may differ in several life history traits, including behavioural ones such as sexual signalling. We tested whether male Mediterranean fruit fly (medlfy), Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) (Diptera: Tephritidae), populations obtained from geographically isolated areas exhibit differences in quantitative and qualitative aspects of male sexual signalling. Male sexual signalling was studied in four medfly populations (originating from Brazil, Portugal, Kenya, and Greece) under identical laboratory conditions (25 °C, 60% r.h., and L14:D10). The four populations had been reared for one generation in the laboratory. Sexual signalling was studied in the F1 progeny that were fed one of two diets (yeast hydrolysate plus sugar or sugar only). On both diets, the four populations differed significantly in the progress of maturity (indicated by the average number of males exhibiting sexual signalling) and in the quantity of signalling after attaining maturity. Yeast availability significantly increased sexual signalling; however, it had a different impact on the quantity of signalling in the different populations. A bi‐modal pattern of sexual signalling, with one peak at approximately 08:00–09:00 hours and the second at approximately 13:00–14:00 hours, was recorded for all populations and diets. However, quantitative differences among the populations within the ‘sexually active’ period of the day resulted in significant differences in the daily pattern of sexual signalling. The significance of these findings for understanding adaptations of geographically isolated medfly populations to different ecosystems, as well as its practical importance for the application of the sterile insect technique against C. capitata, is discussed.

中文翻译：

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地中海果蝇种群在性信号的日龄和年龄模式方面存在差异

昆虫种群可能在几个生活史特征上有所不同，包括行为特征，如性信号。我们测试了雄性地中海果蝇 (medlfy)、Ceratitis capitalta (Wiedemann)（双翅目：Tephritidae）、从地理上孤立的地区获得的种群是否在雄性性信号的数量和质量方面表现出差异。在相同的实验室条件（25 °C、60% 相对湿度和 L14:D10）下，研究了四个地中海果蝇种群（源自巴西、葡萄牙、肯尼亚和希腊）的雄性性信号。这四个种群已经在实验室中培育了一代。在喂食两种饮食（酵母水解物加糖或仅糖）中的一种的 F1 后代中研究了性信号。在两种饮食中，这四个种群在成熟进程（以表现出性信号的雄性平均数量表示）和达到成熟后的信号量方面存在显着差异。酵母可用性显着增加了性信号；然而，它对不同人群中的信号量有不同的影响。记录了所有人群和饮食的双模式性信号模式，一个峰值出现在大约 08:00-09:00 小时，第二个峰值出现在大约 13:00-14:00 小时。然而，一天中“性活跃”时期人群之间的数量差异导致性信号的日常模式存在显着差异。