The effect of pupal size on the eclosion of Queensland fruit fly 'Bactrocera tryoni'

Mass rearing facilities are used to produce many different species of fruit fly around the world for use in the Sterile Insect Technique. Facilities use standard tests to assess the quality of the sterile flies produced and to optimise the quality of flies distributed for release. A pupal sorter was used to assess the relationship between pupal weight and eclosion of the Queensland fruit fly, 'Bactrocera tryoni' (Froggatt) in four separate trials. Eclosion was significantly related to pupal size and to the day of larval hopping. The new genetic stock had significantly greater eclosion than the existing genetic colony. Sorting the pupae twice did not result in significantly different weights in each collection chute. Percentage eclosion ranged from 66.56% to 94.75% during the four trials.