GOALS

As part of the Sterile Insect Technique, we seek to produce sterile males that are as attractive as possible so that, when released into the wild, they are preferentially chosen by wild females. To this end, we have developed 12 strains of D. suzukii. whose generations have evolved in four specific environments (Experimental Evolution lines, EE). This summer, we tested the attractiveness of males from these 12 lines to females from mass breeding (SPST). The results of these laboratory experiments enabled us to select three lines whose males were preferred by SPST females. The next step is to conduct a test in a realistic environment, this time with wild females. We are therefore testing the attractiveness of males from these three EE lines compared to SPST males by wild females in ECOTRON mesocosms with an autumn climate programme and natural light. The results should enable us to determine whether the environments chosen for our experimental evolution are conducive to the production of sterile males that are sufficiently ‘attractive’ to be selected by females in natura.

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