Adult Quality of Dacus oleae Affected by Larval Crowding and Pupal Irradiation 1

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Abstract
The quality of mass produced adult fruit flies, Dacus oleae (Gmelin), is affected by crowding during the larval stage. Using various larval densities, adults of different quality were produced as measured by adult weight, survival, reproductive potential and male competitiveness. Adequate feeding at the adult stage did not compensate for the crowding stresses applied at the larval stage to allow high egg production. Egg hatchability was not influenced by crowding in the larval stage. Pupal irradiation adversely affected male competitiveness only in adults which underwent intense crowding stress as larvae.