287Influence of male nutritional conditions on the performance and alimentary

As highly adapted animals with great evolutionary diversity, the insects are considered important subjects for studies concerning nutrition and feeding behavior. Although they have developed morphological, physiological and behavioral means to guarantee acquisition and utilization of nutrients, the insects are constantly facing more immediate problems when food quality varies not only in space but also in time. In addition, the insects needs are not constant: they vary as concerns growth, development and reproduction (Simpson & Simpson 1990; Simpson et al. 1995). All organisms exhibit a series of behaviors that function as bridges between the organism physiological needs, a variety of phylogenetic limits and the environment where they live. These behaviors are highly adapted standards which optimize the reproductive success of the performing individual (Yuval & Hendrichs 2000). These principles are very well illustrated in the behavioral analysis of the Tephritidae family members in general. Influence of male nutritional conditions on the performance and alimentary selection of wild females of Anastrepha obliqua (Macquart