Suitability as Medfly Ceratitis capitata (Diptera, Tephritidae) hosts, of seven fruit species growing on the island of São Miguel, Azores

Seven species of fruit were selected to study their suitability as hosts to Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann). Suitability was determined by evaluating field infestation rates of different host-fruit and by studying the performance of C. capitata reared on these hosts. We sampled old regional cultivars of hot pepper (Capsicum annuum), loquat (Eriobotrya japonica), cattley guava (Psidium littorale), sweet orange (Citrus sinensis) and mandarin (Citrus reticulata); and two introduced fruit plants, feijoa (Feijoa sellowiana cultivar Sellwiana) and peach (Prunus persica cultivar Robidoux). Of the latter, except for mandarin, fruit contained larvae that pupated and yielded viable adults. In the case of mandarins, larvae were detected but none was able to pupate. The percentage of infested fruit was similar among peach, feijoa, sweet orange and hot pepper and, significantly higher than the other hosts (>60%). The highest mean number of pupae and adults per fruit was observed in peach (18.30 and 17.17, respectively) and the lowest in loquat (4.62 and 3.68, respectively). Host-fruit significantly influenced pupal weight, with heavier pupae (0.0124 g) observed in sweet orange. The shortest pupal development time (9.31 days) was observed in hot pepper, whereas the longest (11.99 days) was in feijoa. Adult emergence rates were generally high (>80%), except for sweet orange. Results showed the most suitable host-fruit for C. capitata was peach, followed by cattley guava and feijoa; although loquat and sweet orange were shown to be the less suitable hosts they seem to have an important role as alternative hosts between January and June, allowing the continuous development of C. capitata throughout the year