The Importance of Vitamins in Adult Dacus oleae (Diptera: Tephritidae) Nutrition

Abstract

The importance of 15 vitamins on adult Dacus oleae survival, egg production, and fertility was tested, deleting them individually or in groups, from an effective chemically defined diet. Survival of both sexes was affected when pyridoxine, riboflavin, or all the vitamins were omitted. In addition female survival was also affected when both folic acid and RNA were omitted. Egg production and hatchability were significantly reduced with single omissions of vitamin E, biotin, choline chloride, inositol, nicotinic acid, riboflavin, and the omission of all the vitamins, or all B-complex vitamins, or that of the folic acid and RNA. Hatchability was, in addition, reduced with single omissions of calcium pantothenate, folic acid, pyridoxine, and thiamine.