ABSTRACT
Medfly mating behavior was observed and recorded in the Seibersdorf laboratory. A male was released into a small chamber supplied with a lemon leaf and small microphone. Male courtship was composed mainly of passive or active calling, wing vibration, buzzing, attempts to copulate, and copulation. Most mating attempts undertaken “par force” or that ignored lack of positive response from the courted female, failed. Successful males managed to copulate at half of the energy cost of the “unsuccessful” males. Behavioral properties of mass-reared flies are monitored mostly using the “startle test” and “mating propensity test.” Effectiveness of the sterile insect technique depends, among other factors, on the ability of the sterile males to establish their lek territory, attract females, and perform courtship with the perfection that would make wild females incapable of discriminating between them and their wild competitors.
