Eur. J. Entomol. 95 (3): 335-341, 1998
Can Rhagoletis pomonella flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) learn to associate presence of food on foliage with foliage color?
- N/A
Rhagoletis pomonella (Diptera: Tephritidae) flies were exposed for 3 days in laboratory cages to yellowish, green or white surrogate leaves with or without food (sucrose) on the leaf surface. When tested in an arena minutes after fly removal from an exposure cage, yellowish surrogate leaves were more attractive to tested flies than green surrogate leaves irrespective of the nature of surrogate leaves to which flies had been exposed. However, flies exposed to green surrogate leaves having food exhibited greater propensity to alight on green surrogate leaves than flies exposed to yellowish or white surrogate leaves having food. This propensity disappeared when flies were tested 24 h after termination of exposure to green surrogate leaves having food. There was no evidence of enhanced propensity of flies exposed to yellowish surrogate leaves having food to alight on yellowish surrogate leaves when tested minutes after removal from an exposure cage. We discuss the potential ecological significance of the evidence presented here that R. pomonella flies are capable of learning to associate the presence of food with green color of leaf surface on which food could be found.
Keywords: Associative food learning, foliage color, Tephritidae, Rhagoletis pomonella
Accepted: February 27, 1998; Published: September 25, 1998 Show citation
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