For insect pests controlled through the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), which consists in the mass production, sterilization, and release of target insects into affected areas, sterile male mating success with wild females is the key that will reduce population levels in the next generation. Male size is assumed to be important for mating success, but often without any concrete evidence or confounded by other parameters. Here, we evaluated male size and its interaction with male origin (laboratory or wild) on female choice for two lekking species controlled through SIT, Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart) and Anastrepha ludens (Loew) (Diptera: Tephritidae). In field cages, we tested wild females mating with: large wild males competing against small wild males; large wild males against small laboratory-sterile males; and large laboratory-sterile males against small wild males. We found evidence of large male advantage for A. obliqua but no effect of male size on mating competitiveness for A. ludens. For A. obliqua large wild males had a greater mating success over small laboratory males, yet large laboratory males secured a similar amount of copulations than small wild males. For A. ludens, there was no effect of male size on mating success. We discuss why A. obliqua is sensitive to size and origin while no effect was seen in A. ludens. SIT programs should not assume that male mating success is dependent on a large size. Alternatively, when an advantage exists for large males, mass-rearing programs should stride to produce and release large males.

中文翻译：

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尺寸重要吗？两只苍蝇的伴侣选择。

对于通过不育昆虫技术（SIT）进行控制的害虫，其中包括大量生产，绝育和将目标昆虫释放到受影响区域，雄性不育与不育雌性成功交配是减少下一代种群数量的关键。男性的体型被认为对于成功的配偶很重要，但通常没有任何具体的证据或与其他参数混淆。在这里，我们评估了通过SIT控制的两种韭菜物种Anastrepha obliqua（Macquart）和Anastrepha ludens在雌性选择上的雄性大小及其与雄性起源（实验室或野生）的相互作用。（Loew）（双翅目：T科）。在野外笼子中，我们测试了野生雌性与以下动物的交配：大型野生雄性与小型野生雄性竞争；大型野生雄性对小型实验室不育雄性；和大型实验室无菌雄性对小型野生雄性。我们发现有证据表明雄性斜纹夜蛾具有较大的雄性优势，但雄性体型对鲁氏芦苇交配竞争力没有影响。对于斜角拟南芥，大型野生雄性比小型实验室雄性有更大的交配成功率，但是大型实验室雄性获得的交配量与小型野生雄性相似。对于A. ludens，雄性大小对交配成功没有影响。我们讨论了为什么斜纹夜蛾对大小和起源敏感，而在A. ludens。SIT计划不应假定雄性交配成功取决于大的数量。或者，当对大型雄性有优势时，应采取大规模繁殖计划，以生产和释放大型雄性。