Fruit Flies And The Sterile Insect Technique

This book is a continuation of the development of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) specifically designed for use against, and management of, fruit flies. Several factors indicate an increased use of the SIT against fruit flies within the next decade.

There has been little harmonisation of the processes involved in the handling and release of sterile insects after production in mass rearing facilities. There are no standard guidelines available to transfer this technology to FAO or IAEA member countries that want to embark on sterile insect technique (SIT) activities. There is also increased interest by the private sector in investing in sterile insect production and/or other SIT activities, and these harmonized guidelines on the post-production phase will facilitate SIT application and foster the commercialization of the SIT.This guideline resulted from two FAO/IAEA consultants' meetings with representatives of relevant SIT programmes, the first held in Sarasota, Florida, United States of America (April 2004) and the second in Vienna, Austria (August 2005). It has identified a number of gaps in knowledge as well as procedures that are often based on conventional wisdom but which need scientific verification or optimization.

Overview of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division's involvement in fruit fly sterile insect technique programs. Population genetics of ceratitis capitata and phylogenetic relations with other tephritidae. Food foraging behavior of frugivorous fruit flies. Advances in attractant and trapping technologies for tephritids. Mass rearing of fruit flies: a demographic analysis. Nutritional, biochemical, and biological aspects of quality control in the olive fruit fly. Advances in measuring quality and assuring good field performance in mass reared fruit flies. Mutants, chromosomes, and genetic maps in the mediterranean fruit fly. Requirements and strategies for the development of genetic sex separation systems with special reference to the mediterranean fruit fly. Fruit fly problems in China and prospects for using the sterile insect technique. Fruit fly problems in Southeast Asia and efforts to meet them. Bioclimatic effects on the distribution of the mediterranean fruit fly (diptera: tephritidae) in maghreb. Fruit fly free areas: strategies to develop them. Pink bollworm sterile moth releases: suppression of established infestations and exclusion from noninfested areas. The MOSCAMED program: practical achievements and contributions to science. The melon eradication program in Japan. The eradication of the Queensland fruit fly, bactrocera tryoni, from Western Australia.

In a context of increasing use and transboundary shipment of sterile insects, this updated FAO/IAEA guideline provides a compilation of the processes currently used in most of the fruit fly Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) applications world-wide.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environment-friendly method of pest control that integrates well into area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes. This book takes a generic, thematic, comprehensive, and global approach in describing the principles and practice of the SIT. The strengths and weaknesses, and successes and failures, of the SIT are evaluated openly and fairly from a scientific perspective. The SIT is applicable to some major pests of plant-, animal-, and human-health importance, and criteria are provided to guide in the selection of pests appropriate for the SIT. In the second edition, all aspects of the SIT have been updated and the content considerably expanded. A great variety of subjects is covered, from the history of the SIT to improved prospects for its future application. The major chapters discuss the principles and technical components of applying sterile insects. The four main strategic options in using the SIT — suppression, containment, prevention, and eradication — with examples of each option are described in detail. Other chapters deal with supportive technologies, economic, environmental, and management considerations, and the socio-economic impact of AW-IPM programmes that integrate the SIT. In addition, this second edition includes six new chapters covering the latest developments in the technology: managing pathogens in insect mass-rearing, using symbionts and modern molecular technologies in support of the SIT, applying post-factory nutritional, hormonal, and semiochemical treatments, applying the SIT to eradicate outbreaks of invasive pests, and using the SIT against mosquito vectors of disease. This book will be useful reading for students in animal-, human-, and plant-health courses. The in-depth reviews of all aspects of the SIT and its integration into AW-IPM programmes, complete with extensive lists of scientific references, will be of great value to researchers, teachers, animal-, human-, and plant-health practitioners, and policy makers.

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is an environment-friendly pest control method that fits into area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programmes. This book describes the principles and practice of SIT, frankly evaluating its strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures. SIT is useful against pests that have considerable impact on plant, animal and human health, and criteria are provided to guide in the selection of pests appropriate for SIT.