Infestation of carambolas by laboratory-reared Caribbean fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae): effects of fruit ripeness and cultivar

Three cultivars of Averrhoa carambola (L.) fruits at four stages of ripeness were infested with laboratory-reared Anastrepha suspensa (Loew). Overall, "Golden Star" fruit was significantly less susceptible than "Arkin" or "Fwang Tung" by the following measures of infestation: numbers of eggs laid in fruit, number of pupae developing from fruit, and average weight of pupae. However, cultivar-specific effects of fruit ripeness were detected, with infestation levels increasing with ripeness in some cultivars and declining in others.