Abstract

QUINTERO FONG, José Luis; OROZCO DAVILA, Dina  and  MEZA HERNANDEZ, José Salvador. Visual response of the "yellow eyes mutant" of Anastrepha ludens (Diptera: Tephritidae) to colored spheres. Acta Zool. Mex [online]. 2013, vol.29, n.3, pp.513-519. ISSN 2448-8445.

The "Mexican fruit fly" Anastrepha ludens (Loew), is an economically important pest of citrus and mango crops in Mexico. Sexual behavior studies on mutant strains can help in the selection of insects with potential for release in field. In this study we evaluated the visual response of the mutant "yellow eyes" of A. ludens by color choice experiments to determine possible visual impairments. Laboratory tests were performed using spheres colored of green, orange and white, the mutant strain compared with breeding wild flies were used as control. The results indicated that flies coming from the mutant strain did not have a preference in color choice, showing possible visual impairments.

Keywords : Mexican Fruit Fly; visual tests; mutant strain.