A High‐Resolution Method Using Individual Females to Assess the Competitiveness of Sterile Drosophila suzukii Males Under Semi‐Controlled Conditions
Abstract
The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a species‐specific method used to manage insect pest populations. It relies on the repeated releases of sterile insects, their mating with wild females and the following reduction of egg viability. The SIT efficacy depends on the sexual performance of the released insects, which varies with insects' intrinsic properties as well as production and irradiation conditions. Identifying and addressing insect quality issues is therefore paramount. In this study, we focused on the development and validation of a novel method for assessing the sexual competitiveness of sterile mass‐reared males of the fruit pest Drosophila suzukii Matsumura, 1931 (Diptera). This method is based on sterile males competing with fertile males in mesh cages containing fertile females under semi‐controlled conditions. After 24 h, females were isolated individually and the viability of their progeny assessed. We illustrate the use of this procedure by comparing the competitiveness of different D. suzukii populations, from the laboratory, from the field and after refreshing the genetic diversity of a laboratory strain. Our assay further showed that sterile mass‐reared males from two different colonies were equally sexually competitive as wild type males under semi‐controlled conditions. These results were also supported by a mating test. The procedure presented here may contribute to the development of D. suzukii SIT by facilitating the assessment of insect quality.
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BibTeX
@article{guilhot2026highresolution,
title = {{A High‐Resolution Method Using Individual Females to Assess the Competitiveness of Sterile Drosophila suzukii Males Under Semi‐Controlled Conditions}},
author = {Robin Guilhot and Liqiong Zhang and Keke Gembinsky and Yeudiel Gómez-Simuta and Carlos Cáceres and Teresa Vera and Simon Fellous},
journal = {Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1111/eea.70134},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05795291v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - A High‐Resolution Method Using Individual Females to Assess the Competitiveness of Sterile Drosophila suzukii Males Under Semi‐Controlled Conditions
AU - Robin Guilhot
AU - Liqiong Zhang
AU - Keke Gembinsky
AU - Yeudiel Gómez-Simuta
AU - Carlos Cáceres
AU - Teresa Vera
AU - Simon Fellous
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/10
JO - Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata
DO - 10.1111/eea.70134
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05795291v1
AB - The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a species‐specific method used to manage insect pest populations. It relies on the repeated releases of sterile insects, their mating with wild females and the following reduction of egg viability. The SIT efficacy depends on the sexual performance of the released insects, which varies with insects' intrinsic properties as well as production and irradiation conditions. Identifying and addressing insect quality issues is therefore paramount. In this study, we focused on the development and validation of a novel method for assessing the sexual competitiveness of sterile mass‐reared males of the fruit pest Drosophila suzukii Matsumura, 1931 (Diptera). This method is based on sterile males competing with fertile males in mesh cages containing fertile females under semi‐controlled conditions. After 24 h, females were isolated individually and the viability of their progeny assessed. We illustrate the use of this procedure by comparing the competitiveness of different D. suzukii populations, from the laboratory, from the field and after refreshing the genetic diversity of a laboratory strain. Our assay further showed that sterile mass‐reared males from two different colonies were equally sexually competitive as wild type males under semi‐controlled conditions. These results were also supported by a mating test. The procedure presented here may contribute to the development of D. suzukii SIT by facilitating the assessment of insect quality.
SN - 0013-8703
SN - 1570-7458
ER -