On the impact of re-mating and residual fertility on the Sterile Insect Technique efficacy: case study with the medfly, Ceratitis capitata

Abstract

The sterile insect technique (SIT) can be an efficient solution for reducing or eliminating certain insect pest populations. It is widely used in agriculture against fruit flies, including the Mediterranean fruit fly (medfly), Ceratitis capitata. The re-mating tendency of medfly females and the fact that the released sterile males may have some residual fertility could be a challenge for the successful implementation of the SIT. Obtaining the right balance between sterility level and sterile male quality (competitiveness, longevity, etc) is the key to a cost-efficient program. Since field experimental approaches can be impacted by many environmental variables, it is difficult to get a clear understanding on how specific parameters, alone or in combination, may affect the SIT efficiency. The use of models not only helps to gather knowledge, but it allows the simulation of a wide range of scenarios and can be easily adapted to local populations and sterile male production. In this study, we consider single- and double-mated females. We first show that SIT can be successful only if the residual fertility is less than a threshold value that depends on the basic offspring number of the targeted pest population, the re-mating rates, and the parameters of double-mated females. Then, we show how the sterile males release rate is affected by the parameters of double-mated females and the male residual fertility. Different scenarios are explored with continuous and periodic sterile males releases, with and without ginger aromatherapy, which is known to enhance sterile male competitiveness, and also taking into account some biological parameters related to females that have been mated twice, either first by a wild (sterile) male and then a sterile (wild) male, or by wild males only. Parameter values were chosen for peach as host fruit to reflect what could be expected in the Corsican context, where SIT against the medfly is under consideration. The obtained results confirmed that the use of ginger aromatherapy is an essential step for SIT success against medfly. Our work also highlights the importance of estimating the duration of the refractory period between matings and how it may change when a wild (or sterile) female mates first with a sterile (or wild) male. Further, we show the importance of parameters, like the (hatched) eggs deposit rate and the death-rate related to all fertile double-mated females. In general, re-mating is considered to be detrimental to SIT programs. However, our results show that, depending on the parameter values of double-mated females, re-mating may also be beneficial for SIT. Our model, being generic, can be easily adapted to different contexts and species, for a broader understanding of release strategies and management options.