Effect of tube diameter and tube colour on flight ability of laboratory-reared Melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Tephritid fruit flies are serious agricultural polyphagous pests in tropical and subtropical regions of the world such as Bangladesh, causing economic losses. Zeugodacus cucurbitae causes damage to crops from primordial stages to harvest stage. Flight ability test is a quality control parameter and serves as a key component in sterile insect technique (SIT). In this experiment, we studied the effect of tube diameter and tube colour on the flight ability of laboratory-reared melon fly adults. The pure-line mass rearing of Z. cucurbitae is continuously conducted at the Cytology and Biocontrol Research (CBR) fruit fly laboratory to maintain its quality in different biological parameters for fundamental and advanced research. To test the effect of tube diameter on flight ability, we used two tube diameter treatments, the first being 4.5 cm diameter and the second being 5.5 cm diameter. Tube height was constant (10 cm). Six tubes were set up for each of the two treatments (with 100 pupae in each tube), resulting in a total of 12 tubes with 1200 pupae in total. There was no significant difference between the two tube diameter treatments in percentage fliers (p>0.05, df =1,10 ; F=0.02). To assess whether tube color has an impact on flight ability, we conducted another experiment. A total of 12 tubes (6 black tubes and 6 white tubes) with 100 pupae in each tube were observed, resulting total 1200 pupae. The tube height was same for all tubes (10 cm). There was significant difference in percentage fliers (p<0.05, df =1,10 ; F=9.49) between the two tube color treatments. This study will help to standardize flight ability assessment of Z. cucurbitae and provides baseline data for future research.